Twenty Second Climb

It’s a foreign concept to a lot of people, but I like to work hard and sweat!  There’s something about putting your whole heart into a task that makes a good outcome all the more enjoyable and a less desirable outcome far easier to tolerate.  Knowing you did what you were able and you tried with everything you had, well, what more could anyone ask?

One of my favorite ways to work hard and sweat, get ready for another far-off concept, is to go the gym.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to walk and ride bike outside and enjoy the handiwork of The Creator, but the gym provides me with a much needed and highly valuable structure – and yes, that is subtle of articulating that knowing I paid for my gym membership makes me go and exercise.

There are a lot of workout options at the gym from weights and strength training to treadmills and stationary bikes – the kind with computer screens that allow you to ride through the Italian countryside and such – and so long as you keep changing up your workouts, is easy to stay engaged and excited about exercising.  Of course there are tasks which put that theory to the test and one of them is the stair-climber!

Lately I’ve taken to climbing stairs as part of my workout routine which is great for all aspects of my goal; cardio training, muscle toning and fat burning. The problem is, climbing multiple flights of stairs is hard work! Now I know what you’re thinking and your right, it is fortunate for me that I like to work hard and sweat, but depending on the speed I choose to climb the stairs, well, it’s about all I can do just to make it to the top, and, in the interest of full disclosure, there’ve been several tymes where I came super close to stopping before I reached the top– one such tyme was this past Monday.

As usual, I started out full of determination and pep, prepared for the twenty minute ascent to the conceptual summit, however this tyme I decided to put myself to the test and do my full climb on a level ten as opposed to the level nine/ten split which was my norm.  About halfway through the climb I realized my goal was a bit overzealous and about three quarters of the way through the climb I realized that my goal was completely overzealous and I desperately wanted to press the stop button.

As I fought the battle between fatigue and failure, I noticed that on the machine’s display there was a counter that was nearing its end and when it hit zero it reset for twenty seconds; it was counting down the tyme until the resistance levels changed.  I started focusing on that little counter and said to myself, “You can do anything for twenty seconds”.  Now granted, with five minutes remaining, I had to say that to myself fifteen tymes, but it shifted my focus from the huge, seemingly unattainable goal to a small, easily accomplished one.  I ended up reaching my goal…95 flights of stairs in twenty minutes.

Later when I thought about how I almost quit and what I did to make it through, I realized that in the climb of life, God needs to be my twenty second counter.  How much easier would my tasks and goals if I told myself “You can do anything with God”?  When I focus my thoughts on God and His plans, my seemingly unobtainable tasks on Earth become small, easily managed missions.  God did not intend for us to climb through life on our own and when take Him with us, we don’t have the burden of staring up the endless flights of stairs, we simple have to step up the steps.  

So the next tyme you face a task in life that makes you want to push the stop button and give up the climb, just take twenty seconds and tell yourself you can do it with God’s help.  With God as your twenty second counter, you’ll reach the summit in no tyme!