My oldest son Ryan’s body type would be the proverbial 90 pound weakling if he didn’t regularly lift weights.  He is 23 now and  a year ago he texted me a picture of himself dead lifting about 360 pounds.

My husband Brett and I are pushing 50 in a few years.  A couple of things come to mind when we think about it: Retirement (or lack of retirement) and exercise (since we would prefer to remain mobile in our later years).  Now is the time to do something about both.

Tonight I mentioned to Brett that I needed to do one of my work out videos (I never thought I would do a work out video on a regular basis, but I have collected about five that I really like).  Brett eagerly expressed his desire to join me in my exercise endeavor.  I picked a new yoga video I hadn’t done yet, thinking it would be easy and shorter than my other routines, and popped it into the DVD player.  I was right on one account, it was shorter.  But, easier?  No.  I managed to get through most of it okay, but Brett figured out quickly the areas he needed to work on…and collapsed with three minutes left to go…since he appeared to still be breathing, I ignored him and completed the session.

Going years without exercising and then feeling the effects of exercise on the muscles can be compared to slacking off in my spiritual endeavors and then hearing myself complain when God tries to stretch my spiritual muscles through a little spiritual exercise.  In which case I can be compared to the Israelites who spent 40 years in the wilderness whining and complaining, rather than learning to rely on God for everything.  On the other hand if I regularly lift weights like my son Ryan, my muscles may feel the effects of the work out, but I will not be as sore as a near 50-year-old who decides to take up exercise before it is too late.