Getting off the detour

"A detour will, by definition, eventually lead us back to where we need to be" ~ Carol Lewis, First Place 4 Health National Director

These past couple weeks have been a detour for me as I'm coming off having bronchitis(which was not in the plan).  Four months ago I finally gave in an listened to God about getting up early to go walking with a few sisters in Christ. My dear friend Claire once referred it to "Get up and die".   I hated the walking part but loved the fellowship.  Most nights I'd peak my head out the window and hope to hear raindrops so I didn't have to go.  Time went by and I found it easier to jog...go figure!  So I finally gave in and bought a good pair of running shoes.  I started to fall in love with running.  So I got myself into the routine of running 3 miles on the track and running up and down 16 bleacher steps.  So finally, the scale was going down in numbers.

The funny thing was that for the first time ever I wasn't focusing on the scale.  Matter of fact in the beginning of April, I had just come off doing a 6 week workout of "Insanity" and only lost 5 lbs.  I even asked my husband permission to take his sledge hammer and break the scale.  He was okay with it (he's so used to me).  Then I didn't want to go and break a $30 scale so I didn't do it.  Then the running started.  I was seeing the difference in my clothes so I figured I'd get on and see if there was finally a difference.  You have to tap it and then when you see the 00 you get on.  I tapped it and the 00 never came on.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  I looked up at our creator and laughed....He's got quite a sense of humor!  So after trying a new battery I discovered I no longer own a scale.  So I had to start using my Sunday School scale, knowing there was a 5 lb difference from my own.  Was thrilled when I saw I lost 20 lbs!  Then within the next few months I lost another 10.

Okay, no more focusing on the numbers!  My getting up and running has nothing to do with numbers.  It's a special time that I get to share with God and my sister's in sweat.  We usually recite our memory verse each morning, cheer each other on, share our stories.  We then end our time with our hands together thanking God for His strength and power that none of us thought we could do 4 months ago.

So I hit a major detour a few weeks ago.  I started to get a cold that just wouldn't go away.  I went running on a Monday and coughed as I ran.  The next day I played it smart and only walked but decided to speed up and jog and paid the price.  I couldn't even get it up.  Finally, I gave in an went to the doctor to discover bronchitis....what??   I was to the point where if I heard raindrops at night I was sad because I couldn't go out in the morning.  I was so afraid that I'd let my old self take over and not get back on the track.  So I rested for well over a week.  But I used that time of rest to call out to God and asked Him to restore me.  I rested in Him through the whole detour.

Yesterday, I was feeling much better and went out on the track.  I took it slow but was able to do the whole 3 miles.  Today I did the 3 miles and did 9 bleacher sets. Thank you Jesus!

"I am still confident of this:  I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."

-Psalm 27:13