Pilgrimage Ponderings
New Life
I'm learning a lot these days from my middle son.
As a toddler we called him the "round child with square corners." He was always in the 90th percentile for weight for his age, and he looked round and soft, but when he tried to climb into your lap, he was all elbows and knees! It hurt.
He fell in love with football in 2nd grade, started playing football in 3rd grade, and is now known in our family as "the jock." Because his goal to become a better, stronger football player has led him to seek out activities year-round that will help him get and stay in shape.
First there was the church basketball team. Then he added track. Next came wrestling. And I think the wrestling experience may have been life-changing for him. They practiced 2 hours a day, Monday through Friday, even over the winter break. As best I can tell, they spent the first hour of practice every day running up and down the stairs and halls of the middle school and doing lots of push-ups.
My round child is no longer round. And he is seeing the benefits of that physical conditioning beyond wrestling season. Last year he ran track. This year he's coming in second or third every time. More importantly, he is taking responsibility for his fitness, not depending on the coach to do it. And he now knows that what he puts in his body and what he does with his body makes a difference. He has changed his body type and his metabolism.
I admire him for his decision to see what he could do rather than just accepting that he would always be a chubby kid. And he has inspired me. All my life I have had no upper body strength, and I just accepted it. But recently I've decided to start doing push-ups. I imagine it's going to take me a long time to be able to do even one correctly. But I think about how my son feels now when he runs, and I want a bit of that feeling for myself.
We proclaim that we worship a God of second chances, and that each day is a new day for celebrating God's grace in our lives. And it seems to me that one way to express our praise and gratitude for the gift of God's love is to actively receive the gift and respond to it.
I am thankful for the gift of life and the gift of a body. But I am realizing that saying "thank you" is not enough. I want to do a better job of taking care of this gift, and that requires action of me, not just thinking.
I am also thankful for the gift of my sons and what they are teaching me.
Sudie: Good for him. It is never too late to live the life you imagined. Spring is a time of hope for me. Hopeful that I live healthier, stay more organized, etc. (03/28/08)
DogBlogger: Great thoughts here. (04/01/08)