Day 5 – Exercise!

I have to say, I am so grateful for the gift of exercise. I’ve been involved in some sort of sport since a very young age and during my kinesiology degree I was blessed to be able to learn so much about this amazing human body that God gave us! I spent 5 years studying it and only tapped into the beginning of its complexities! I enjoy learning about how the body works, exercise and healthy eating and I was sure I didn’t take this for granted.

Well, when I went to Haiti the large majority of our food was unhealthy, it hurt my stomach so much every day, and I couldn’t exercise, either because there was nowhere to exercise, my stomach was in too much pain from the food, or it just was not safe. A few times in Port au Prince I was able to convince one guy and girl to go out for a morning run with me (we had to have 3 people, a guy being one of them). At another house, we had a 3 meter by 3 meter deck and a short flight of stairs. We would spend an hour or two jumping up and down on the deck, singing and running the stairs, while a guy sat on a chair on the roof next to us, watching us like some crazy American television show. A few times I was also able to skip with the girls or play some soccer with the boys on the rough uneven gravel ground with roots sticking up everywhere. We also went on a hike one day to go feed and pray for some people way up in the mountains, I think it ended up being like a 10 hour day or something, most people were grumbling, but I was so ecstatic to be doing so much exercise!

I really struggled with this, I wanted to be humble, I wanted to be obedient to the Lord, so I went to Haiti, knowing that I would not get much exercise or good food. I also gave up rowing, which is my greatest passion, I wanted to follow the Lord, and I knew that I was putting sport ahead of God. I thought it would be easy, but it was far from it. I struggled with guilt, feeling bad that I wanted so badly to exercise and eat well when there are millions of people starving to death all around me, it was so incredibly difficult. I felt so incomplete, so lost and through this time, instead of always using exercise as an outlet I had to go deeper with the Lord, and discover new ways of release. The way the Lord planned for me to do this was what I was worst at, communicating my feelings, believe it or not. I am able to write much easier than I am able to speak my feelings out loud to others. So I ended up getting deeper relationships with those around me, then I otherwise ever would have. I still am working on communication, but I am excited at the blessings God has given to me through it.

Two of the months in Haiti were some of my most difficult times and I am so thankful for them. When it comes to exercise, I really do feel I have achieved a healthy balance most of the time, the Lord always has to come first. This is not the first time I have laid down exercise for the Lord, but I hope that if I can maintain the balance He is asking for me, that I can have much of it in my lifestyle. Every single day since arriving home from Haiti, I am thankful beyond words, every time I get to exercise; even thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. It may seem silly, but when you give up something you love to do, more than anything, your greatest passion, and the merciful Lord restores it to you, it shows God’s merciful love in such a new depth, it’s indescribable. Now I know, when the Lord asks me to give things up for Him, He has a better plan, simple as that, some things He may restore tenfold, and for other things, the blessings are waiting in Heaven.

I don’t normally like to just quote the verse below by itself because I don’t want to be taking it too far out of context, but it is true. The Lord does have good plans for us, but when I read this verse, I’m always reminded that the Lords ways are higher than our ways and we have to trust Him with even our greatest passions, to make them better.

Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Isaiah 55:9
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

I pray that you too will experience much joy in keeping a healthy lifestyle!

Alicia

Picture: Rowing 2010