Cartwheeling

Exercising has never been one of my favorite things. I was the kid in school who attracted every flying ball in every game once I walked into a gym or on a field, and I usually caught them with my face. Even the balls knew I was a defenseless target.

Additionally, much to my humiliation, I never could do a cartwheel. I remember as a third-grade cheerleader having a teenage cheerleader be so outdone because she could not teach me how to cartwheel. She made me feel like a loser. Unfortunately, that was not the end of that embarrassment.

When I was in junior high, our PE coach once lined all the girls up and told us we had to do cartwheels before going to the locker room and changing for our next class. I watched everyone ahead of me do one, arms strong and feet arcing through the air. I was petrified. Did I mention that all of the boys were standing behind the coach, watching us? Finally, when it was my turn, I ran like the other girls -- arms and knee up with that little hop I had seen them all do -- and instead of cartwheeling did a forward roll and kept running, even though the coach was yelling at me. Ugh. I was not about to go back and face him, and he would never win the title of my ideal PE teacher. My favorite PE coaches were the ones who let us sit on the bleachers, gossip, and drink RC colas. No cartwheels, no flying objects.

Well, I am far from junior high school, and this past week I began an exercise program. After some health issues a few years ago, I got out of shape and just didn't find the drive to get back in. Instead, I found all manner of excuses like lack of time, money, and just plain want-to.

But this exercise program comes with some perks. It is conveniently online, has different difficulty levels, and has a live teacher with lots of encouragement.

I don't expect to be in perfect health by next week. But the different levels allow me to increase the intensity when I need to, helping me get stronger over a period of time. Of course, I will have to keep practicing the workouts, which is easier with my instructors' welcome motivation. But I am also encouraged by the other ladies in my class. Some are in excellent shape, but they continue to take these exercise classes to stay healthy. I admire them, and they help inspire me to keep going.

Let's look at our church experiences through the lens of my exercise class. I am just beginning my journey. Like people who are recently saved, I am excited and hopeful, encountering the joy that comes from this new experience. But that's not all we who are saved have to do. Even after giving our hearts to Jesus, we need to keep working, practicing, going to classes, and exercising our knowledge, belief, and faith. And even when we find ourselves in good shape spiritually, we need to continue exercising those things to stay healthy.

Finally, we don't realize that we are inspiring others around us when we are exercising our faith. You may not see yourself as an inspiration. Maybe your Christian walk is similar to my relationship with exercise. If your Christian walk has not been perfect, you are in the right group. Maybe, like mine, yours hasn't even been close to perfect. That's okay. Let me tell you what I discovered about cartwheels.

Doing a cartwheel is not necessary for me to be in good health. At this point, it might even be detrimental to my health. Maybe in your Christian walk, you were shut down at some point because you were asked to serve in a position you were not comfortable in. Perhaps you were drafted to teach vacation Bible school, and that wasn't for you. Because things didn't work out, you backed up. But, again, it's okay. Don't let that stop you from discovering another place to serve.

There are so many other places needing workers. You don't have to sing, preach, or make casseroles. Maybe you want to work in the kitchen, help direct traffic, or run a social media page. There is a place for you somewhere. And you are needed, even if no one is pushing you.

Perhaps you had a Christianity coach who just let you sit on the pew, gossip, and drink grape juice. Maybe you enjoyed it, but was it really helping you? Was it really helping those around you? Probably not.

I pray that this week you will be encouraged to exercise your Christianity. Build your faith muscles and inspire others around you. And ask God about where your place is. Maybe you're not meant for cartwheels, either. But, just maybe, you can do a forward roll and own it like a champ!