A Weighted Walk
Walking while wearing my weighted vest has become my new favorite activity. I crave walking like never before. Exercising in this way has become something I just do. I don’t need to schedule it, prioritize it, or, 95% of the time, convince myself to do it. It happens almost daily because it is simply something I do. I eat vegetables, brush my teeth, and exercise. It’s just what I do because I feel better doing it.
I was working out this morning, and as my mother was fond of saying, “This got me to thinking.” I was thinking about how this kind of weighted walk has become more to me than only a vehicle for better health. I have to work harder while wearing the vest, and when I started out, I found muscles I didn’t know I had. They hurt and took time to recover. They are much stronger now, and I feel it and see evidence of it, too.
When I lay aside those extra twenty pounds, I feel unencumbered, light, fearless even. I can keep going. I can continue my race in more ways than one.
We have different kinds of weights that slow us down, distract us from our calling, and can make us miserable. We carry worries, fear, burdens, and doubt. The weight of sin is the heaviest. We will always bear some, as we are imperfect people living in an imperfect world. But desiring to please God and trusting Him will help us shed the heavy things we carry, including the weighty burden of sin. We won’t lose all the weight, but we will lighten our load as we continue to turn to Jesus and rely on Him.
Jesus took the shame that was due us when He hung bloody and beaten on that rugged cross. He did it gladly. He accepted the weight of sin that was ours to endure, knowing we could never bear up under it. He accepted the will of His Father, and we are forever blessed because of it.
When I wear my weighted vest, I feel it. I know the weight I’m bearing. Every step brings me closer to my health goals, but my recent steps have also drawn me closer to Jesus. Weighted walking is more to me than simply a way to improve my physical health. It gives me time to pray and declutter my thoughts. It helps me to shed unwanted things. I want to run my earthly race well. I want to shed the weight I don’t need and run faster, farther, and with more ease. I want to hear I ran well and was faithful in my running.
How can I do this?
