Lent Day 5

Lent is a period of 40 days from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday not counting Sundays.  However, last year when I quit smoking, I couldn’t dare cheat on Sunday or I would start over every week.  This year will be no different.  I shall include Sundays. 

I rose early even with the time change.  Getting up early the last few days made me adjusted to it already.  I was able to head to Men’s Breakfast at church and watch a beautiful sunrise on the way.  Good things happen when we commit to God.  He conditions us for his glory.

There was one word that stuck out to me today: Relationship.  I heard it in the daily Bible Verse email, Men’s Breakfast, Church Service, and Sunday School.  I was reminded very quickly that this is not a diet plan, exercise plan, or fitness routine.  Lent is about building a relationship with God.  When I don’t want to get up and go outside, I ask God for the motivation.  When I run and I don’t feel like going any farther, I ask God for the strength.  When I struggle with something difficult that I don’t want to do, I ask God for patience and understanding.  Physical distance, speed, and type of activity matter none.  The point is that I am doing something with God.

Meek is a confusing word, unless you understand it.  Modern English dictionaries tell us it is an adjective that means “overly submissive, compliant, humbly patient, or docile”.  None of those definitions fit me, but the Bible tells us to become meek and the meek shall inherit the Earth.  Mathew 5:5.  When a wild animal becomes a pet it is said to be domesticated or broken.  When that wild horse, dog, cat, or bird becomes domesticated it becomes our pet, even a loved family member.  By being our pet we give it all the love, food, shelter, and comfort it could want.  We don’t ask that lovable Golden Retriever or German Sheppard to be overly submissive but rather to be our companion, confidant, and even our security system.  That’s what meek is to me.  I am becoming meek and God is my master who shall provide me with all the love and comforts I could want.  Lent is my process of being domesticated or “broken”.

Men are leaders in their homes, workplace, church, and country.  The presentation in Men’s Breakfast reminded me that this is my role, always.  Therefore, the fitness part of today included my family.  We took a bike ride all the way to town and got a special treat for the boys.  My bike is literally the leader as I have a “hitch-hiker” half bike attached to the back for Tyler, Blake’s bike trailer hooked behind the hitch-hiker, and Christy on her bike in the rear (or beside me when possible).  We were literally a bicycle train and I loved it.  The whole family did about 12 miles today and enjoyed each others companionship.  However, we must have hit a skunk or something dead . . . what is that smell around me . . . oh, that was a good work out.  Time to hit the showers.