Strength in the Lord

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Some of you know that health and strength have been a focus of my life over the past few years. A more significant emphasis was placed on these two areas starting last May. I started a year long journey of health and strength training. This journey included packing my body full of nutritious foods and severely limiting processed foods (You have to have pizza now and then!). It also included beginning a strict workout regimen that included high-intensity strength training. I completed P90X3, P90X2, started P90X before switching to the Body Beast, and then finishing off with P90X3 again. I added 40 lbs to my frame, as well as muscle, definition, and strength. I felt on top of the world!

In a short week and a half, that all came crashing down. After roofing our house over the course of about 10 days in June 2018, I was spent. The next two months were full of fatigue-filled days. Before roofing, I was strong, energy-filled, and alive. After? I was broken, energy-sapped, and weak. After two months of this, my strength and energy started to come back. I tried to get back into the workout routine, but I just didn't have the strength. At my best, I was able to do over 100 pull-ups in a 30 minute workout. Now? My first set of pull-ups consisted of two, poor form pull-ups. It was depressing and demoralizing. What happened to me?

Well, as I soon came to find out, my body was riddled with cancer. The fatigue and lack of strength all made sense after that diagnosis. It was at that moment that I felt the weakest. Powerless. And to an extent, I am powerless. I can control what goes in my body, but I can't control how my body responds to it. I'm at the mercy of the cancer. Or am I? Luckily, that may not be completely true. My faith in God helps me to understand that I'm truly at His mercy. If it's His will that I live, I will live. If it's His will that I return home, then nothing I do now will change that. I know in whom I have trusted.

Today, I pushed play again. I worked out for the first time in months. And boy was it sobering! We often fear feeling weak. At times I do. However, in our weaknesses we learn to turn to God and rely upon Him. We are also made aware of opportunities for growth. I look forward to another fitness journey back to normalcy. I also look forward to continuing to walk the path that is before me, knowing that God will always provide me with the strength that I need. I am never alone and that grants me all the strength in the world.


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