I love to start my summer mornings off with an early morning walk. The sun is up by 6 AM, and the air is not too hot to enjoy, even on the hottest days. Afterward, I love sitting outside (as in the moments of starting this article) or in the breezeway for my morning devotional time with God; hearing the birds singing their morning songs and having their morning chats. The wind on my face is an absolute blessing from God.
Mondays in particular, I like to start my week off with a walk. It is one of the easiest forms of exercise (although I know not always easy). It gets me a jump start to my week. Even if I am feeling sluggish, if I can get in a walk, I know that I at least got in one day of exercise for the week…keeping my long-standing desire for regular exercise and pattern going. The beauty of it is that once that first day of exercise is in, there are likely others that follow…and even, perhaps, more exercise in the same day!
Starting early each morning simply kickstarts my day with sunshine (in more ways than one). I am almost immediately out of bed, dressed, and out of the house. I might move slowly, but I don’t often wrestle with the decision long because I know I will love it and be super happy about it—no regrets! The decision has usually been made the night before. In addition, there are only a few months out of the entire year that you will have a 6 AM sunrise to take advantage of here in the Appalachian region.
I don’t usually start my walk at a fast pace in order to allow my body, muscles and joints, to get fully awake. I don’t try to rush, although I hope to pick up the pace a bit from that initial half mile or so. I usually walk in the same vicinity, but I don’t always follow the same path each morning.
Isn’t that similar to our walk with Christ? Each day, we make a decision first thing in the morning if we will follow. If we follow regularly, there is basically no wrestling…we don’t think about it in the sense of, “Will I, or won’t I, follow Jesus today?” It is who we are in Him. The decision has been made—no regrets.
We find His mercies new every morning. [ “Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” Lamentations 3:23 NLT. https://bible.com/bible/116/lam.3.23.NLT ] Each day that we start our day fresh with Him, we can see beauty all around us. We don’t need to rush our walk. We need to savor the journey. We might be walking in the same vicinity, but each day’s path may look a little different. The important thing is to keep walking. The path today may take us to an unexpected place with beauty and fulfillment that we could not have conjured up in our minds even if we’d tried…because HE is the one who makes things beautiful. [ “He has made everything beautiful in its time…” Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/ecc.3.11.ESV ]
I have found that the more I take those steps to exercise, the more I want to; the more motivated I become. And, if I walked a lesser amount today, I may feel like increasing by 10 minutes tomorrow and so on. I also have found that the more I walk with Jesus, the more I want to. The more I spend time with Him and in His Word, the more I treasure it.
HE—is my morning motivator.
I am here to encourage you in your walk with Christ this Monday morning; and if you are reading this Monday evening or Tuesday morning, don’t be discouraged…apply it to the here and now…start fresh right now…and plan to continue bright and early tomorrow morning. Sometimes, it is just about taking that first step.
”“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”“
1 Timothy 4:8 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1ti.4.8.NLT
Simply Celebrate With Jackie 