Press on!
Today was a hard day for many of us. We can attribute it to a lot of things, but mostly we have decided to go with whatever is…is! We started working out at five instead of six for our last week and we have two hours of cardio instead of one hour before breakfast, we get back to the townhouse at 7 and are back up for cardio at 8 and our hike was one of the harder ones….alot of ups and downs (steep ones and rocky) so the way in and the way back out felt equally difficult. Those are some of the logical reasons why we may have all had moments today when we felt like quitting…..
But you know what we did, we Pressed On…..we encouraged and rallied and cheered one another through and we are amazingly comfortable allowing one another to experience melt downs as well. It is all part of the journey. It is similar to how life is at home as well…not so much in the 10 hours of exercise or the controlled environment of which we are enjoying, but the ups and downs, the laughter and the tears, the wondering how much longer and the amazing end around the next bend. Life mirrors what we are experiencing in many ways.
I think what strikes me though is that when I am alone in life, quitting is easier to do than when I am in community. I walked alone on the hike for a while and battled in my mind the idea of just standing still. I tried to rationalize stopping as a moment to enjoy the beauty, to spend a moment with God and even just dreading if I keep walking, I will face another hill. I thought thru how it would be kind to myself to stop and head back and yet the truth was that my mind wanted me to believe that my body COULD NOT press on. I had to choose, very intentionally, to keep walking, one step in front of the other, and press on.
We are pretty honest with each other and admit when our stinkin thinkin takes over and know how to encourage and speak truth to one another…but one thing we have clearly learned, is the importance for each of us to know how to choose to press on…for another 30 seconds, another minute, or another mile…I hope you to can find the courage, energy and sheer determination to do the same!