How Can I Find The Time?

How Can I Find the Time?

Run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. 1 Corinthians 9:24-26

Running was the last thing on my mind. I’d been so busy trying to keep up with two active preschoolers, nurse a baby, and take care of household chores that many mornings I found myself saying, I’m so tired, Lord. Please give me enough energy to get everything done and get through the day. This was especially true if I had been up with a sick child during the night. Gradually I had grown less active and had begun resorting to a daily dose of caffeine to pull me out of the “afternoon slump.”

One afternoon I felt that God was responding to my prayer for more energy, but not in the way I expected: If you want more energy, move your body, he seemed to say. So my husband, Holmes, and I came up with a plan. When he strolled in the door from work amid the welcoming whoops of the boys, I showed him the snacks on the kitchen counter, handed him baby Alison, and jogged out the door to the track behind our house.

I huffed and puffed around the track the first time. Passed by every runner out there, I trudged my way around the second and third time. But as I persevered, I found the stresses of a broken washing machine and a stack of medical bills awaiting payment melting away with the miles. Before long, I began to discover some surprising benefits besides increased strength: Without dieting, I lost weight, and my PMS symptoms decreased. My mood got happier, and I could handle everyday stresses better. With more energy, I hopped out of bed before the kids woke up and could enjoy time with God (there is a strong correlation between physical and spiritual health).

Since that first day, many years ago, I’ve always made time to exercise. It’s one of my “nonnegotiables,” just like prayer and time in God’s Word, which energize my spirit. If I want to keep running the race God has marked out for me, I’ve got to keep moving. And year after year I continue to experience the life-giving blessings of making time to move my body.

See you later—I’m going for a walk! —CHERI

Thank you, Lord, for the body you’ve given me—legs that can move, arms that can swing. Grant me the strength and determination to run the race of life with endurance and to take care of the body you’ve given me.

Finding the time and making your workout a priority in taking care of yourself will determine whether you win for the long run. It’s a lifegiving process.

—OPRAH WINFREY, TALK-SHOW HOST