Treadmills Are No Fun!

For the sake of my health, I'm forced to use my treadmill every day now. Each morning after I get up, one of the first things I think about is my date with that wretched machine. I try to think of the exercise to come in positive ways, but so help me, I just can't! I try all kinds of gimmicks to get myself on there and then I have to keep up the gimmicks to get myself to stay on there. (Have you ever noticed that time stands still when you're on one of those things?) My goal is to walk twice a day for 15 minutes, but time just drags while I'm "walking". Today, I let my blood sugar get too low while I was walking. I didn't test before I started to see if I was already on the low side, and exercise tends to make blood sugar drop, so I suffered a little once I was finished walking until the sugar level came back into a normal range.

Sometimes, I have a foul attitude about the spiritual exercises I need to do to keep myself fit, also. I drag my feet getting into the word...I grumble about the daily devotions that can keep me healthy. If I'd only dig in and read, then I'd leave my devotional time feeling better, but it's too easy to get distracted by other things and leave off the spiritual exercise that makes me grow more fit to serve the Lord and His kingdom. And just like I did with the treadmill today, I sometimes jump ahead of the Lord's plans for my day; I end up feeling "low" in spirit and often drained because I didn't prepare first.

I'm finding that as I grow older, the balance between what's good for me and what's easier for me is ever more fragile, in physical and spiritual matters. I'm learning that just going through my days with little conscious effort like I did when I was younger doesn't cut it anymore. I need to listen to the Lord's voice and bring myself into communion with His Spirit more often and with greater sensitivity. I love this verse in James 1:4:

"Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

My prayer is that I will persevere so that I can grow and become complete in the Lord...not lacking anything and prepared for whatever appointment God may bring to me each day. May God grant my prayer...and maybe He could help speed time up while I'm on the treadmill, too!