Just One Step More

"To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given."- Luke 19:26

As most of you know I started training for a 5K back in August. It has been hard. Ridiculously hard. It is also the first time in my life I have started a goal and actually exceeded the goal. I am now training for a 10K in March. Who knew an overweight grandmother could take up running and be successful at it!

Running is hard enough for the fit and athletic. But for a short, round, fluffy woman it has been painfully obvious just how out of shape I had let myself get. Thanks to my genetic makeup which, if you haven't seen any pictures of me, leans towards the oft referred to "pear shape" and my vertically challenged height of five feet zero inches tall, the sport of running has just never been on my to do list.

Then I ended up in the hospital. Stroke? Heart attack? Test after test after test came up empty. After 3 days spent staring at the ceiling in a bed I couldn't get out of because it had an alarm on it (because I was dizzy and a risk for falling), the sad truth was revealed. I was overweight and stressed out. My diet was dismal, my exercise consisted of walking from my office to the kitchen, and my worry about things I couldn't control was killing me.

Something. Had. To. Give. Or. I. Was. Going. To. Die.

So here I am four months later. My diet has changed. My weight has dropped. I run 5 days a week. I leave my phone turned off for the better part of the day. I spend the first part of my morning with God, even if I have to get up at zero dark thirty. I am trying to stay off of facebook...ok...that one is still difficult for me. I have come to realize that if I don't take care of what God has given me...my body, my health, my heart, my life...then why would He want to bless me with more?

Dearest Father God, thank You for the chance to get it right...again. Thank You for the beautiful world outside my door every morning that I get to view as I run. Thank You for the support of family and friends. I pray for those who struggle to become healthy. Please give them strength for the journey. Let others come alongside them to give them encouragement and company. Let us all take care of what You have given us so that we can gain even more to share with those around us. In the Name of Christ I pray, Amen

©Michelle Welch, 2013 team member of Breath Of Life Women's Ministries
photography owned by Michelle Welch, all rights reserved
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