I do not care for the treadmill. Dislike. Can’t stand. Disdain. Ok, I hate the treadmill! Here I am on my mile walk, arms swinging as I stride along to nowhere and hating every minute. This walk is suppose to be good for me; gets my heart pumping, burns fat calories, stretches and builds muscle, and cleanses my pores as I sweat. And no I am not huffing and puffing! I am breathing deeply! I couldn’t admit that I am that much out of shape!
My (and my husband’s) serious New Year’s resolution was to start anew on the treadmill and lose a few pounds. It is amazing that the older we get the harder it is to keep weight off. I sure am glad I am not alone in this class of misfits. When we went to start the treadmill it needed some repair. It was so nice to have a good excuse to “unresolve” but then I really did want to do this. Finally, this afternoon (2 month’s after January 1) Gene fixed the problem. Now there is no excuse.
As I walked, I started thinking. I might be walking to nowhere but my mind is everywhere. I saw the clock that needs to be wound, a throw rug needing to be straighten, a pair of shoes left in the middle of the floor, a screw driver that belongs in the laundry room, dust on the coffee table, remembered an email that needs to be sent and a pack of hamburger I meant to get out of the freezer. Then I….why can’t I just put my mind in neutral and enjoy this walk in the comfort of my temperature controlled living room? Then I look at the calorie counter and see that my energy spent is worth about one yummy cookie.
After I got past what I saw that needed to be done I thought of some spiritual analogies. The apostle Paul talked of life being like a race; pressing towards the mark (finish line) with joy and laying aside the sins and cares of this life that weigh us down. (II Timothy 4:7 and Hebrews 12:1)
When I start my mile walk, I program my goal into the treadmill. 20 minutes, 1 mile. The first quarter mile is easy as I walk with no grade on the incline but the longer I walk the more I increase the incline. I want to punch as much power into those 20 minutes as I can-make it worthwhile. But I also have a problem. I watch the digital dials showing how many more minutes I have to walk!!! This gets me annoyed as time moves so slow and I can’t speed it up. 20 minutes is 20 minutes, one second at time. The little red dots have to go around the track four times for my mile. It takes forever; ten seconds between each dot. It is encouraging to watch the calorie and fat calorie counter add up. And when my stint on the treadmill is complete, I turn it off and step off. I feel like I am gliding across the floor. That feeling happens every time.
My days are programed into this thing called life. Only God knows the day, hour and second when my walk will be complete, the race done, and I have fulfilled my allotted days on earth. Life is not easy. There are many distractions, bumps and bruises along the way. It seems the incline gets steeper the longer I am on this journey. Sometimes I walk with easy and sometimes I huff and puff. Sometimes I feel like I am accomplishing my goal with joy and other times I am aimlessly running the laps, just trying to make it to the next one.
My life journey is getting me in shape for my reward. I am looking forward to heaven. Some day I will step off of earth and glide into the presence of Jesus Christ my Savior. I will hear the words “well done good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21) I don’t know how many more laps I have. God doesn’t have a digital dial for me to watch my progress but I want to complete this race and win my reward. Every lap, every step, every second will be worth it all.
Now, may I have a cookie?