Not really.
Exercise is NOT poetic. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
If I had been born about 100 years earlier, you wouldn’t be reading this blog about my determination to lose all the baby weight…and a little more for health’s sake.
You wouldn’t know what a BLOG was, but that’s irrelevent right now.
I’d more than likely be a farmer’s wife (or a rancher in the Wild West; after all my husband is a visionary) breaking my back and sweating over the virgin soil of a new land. No matter how many kids I had, my waist would be tiny and I’d be more worried about cholera and scarlet fever than I would about whether my figure was still an effective seduction tool to use on said rancher husband.
I was kidding about the seduction part – don’t really have to worry about a husband who doesn’t find me attractive. He likes gray hair and wrinkles…
So I’m nearly halfway through the month – good lord is it really only one more day to the halfway point? My 50,000 word goal is turning out to be closer to 80,000 because I am guaranteed to reach the former by the end of this week. Sooner if I stop procrastinating and writing other things – like this blog.
Anyway, I got to thinking as I’ve gotten closer to my NaNo success story. It takes a lot of discipline to do what we writers have done this month. I know. My hands are on the verge of a physical breakdown any day now. Been doing regular stretching exercises and figuring out how much money to budget toward wrist braces in case of carpal tunnel.
The point being that writing as much as I have this month has really given me pause to evaluate other areas in which I LACK the discipline to reach my goals. Or I just go at it half-adz* and hope to God, He’ll carry me the rest of my lazy way.
I’m lazy. I’ll admit it for the world to see. Confession is good for the soul and if I have it out in public, I can’t hide behind my excuses anymore.
Thing is, as a follower of Christ, I’m made in His image. Heck, as a created being made by God’s hand, I’m created in His image. And I’m doing a pretty poor job of representing Him, because I’m pretty sure “lazy” isn’t anywhere on His list of personality traits. I’ve got work to do if I’m ever going to look remotely like the God I serve.
Someone will say, “But isn’t that His job? To mold and make you like clay in the Potter’s hands?”
Sure.
He’s not going to mold and make me into His image if I don’t want to though. So I have to actually want it first of all. Then I have to take those steps toward becoming pliable in His hands. He’ll meet me halfway. He’ll give 100% if I give 100%.
And let’s face it – I am SHORT of 100% by quite a bit…there might not be a number small enough to mark how far short I am of the goal.
The important thing is that I KNOW I’m short. And I’m running like the hounds of hell are after me to finish the race. I’m dead to laziness and just settling for getting by. I’m running into the arms of my Savior and I’m going to spend my life (the rest of it anyway) proving that I’m not a half-assed* sort of person. He doesn’t just have part of me; He’s got ALL of me…every last sorry piece.
Of course, I’d like it if there was PHYSICALLY less of me to offer. Those love handles are just not something I really want to offer up on the altar of sacrifice.
Or they’re something I’d love to see burn on the altar of sacrifice.Depends on perspective I guess.
All in the name of becoming more like God obviously.
*We’ve all heard the phrase that something was done “half-ass,” but few people stop to wonder what such a ridiculous expression could possibly mean. The term “half-ass” evolved from “half-adz.” An adz is an axelike tool with a curved blade used for shaping wood. If you were wealthy and paid top-dollar for a new fireplace, the mantle would be shaped using an adz in the front as well as the back side, which isn’t visible. However, if you weren’t wealthy and wanted to save money, you could have only the front visible portion of the mantle shaped, this cheaper job being a “half-adz” job. (See: Half-Assed)
Musings on a Life Lived 