Cycle of Life

For the last year, my workout plan has been a little unsteady. I’ve tried desperately to not spend money on exercising. It kind of feels like hiring someone to do your taxes… another urge I’ve resisted because “I should be able to do this by myself.” In both cases, I’d much rather spend my money on something that brings me joy rather than agony… know what I mean?Well, this past week, at the invitation of a friend, I broke down and paid for 3 spin classes. Early – way too early – I left the house and headed in the dark to this new class. I’ve done spin classes before for a brief season, so I knew generally what to expect… but not the uniqueness of this specific place. I remembered that I likely needed to arrive a few minutes early and I had every intention of getting there with time to spare… until I walked downstairs to leave the house. A load of laundry didn’t walk itself to the dryer the night before, and I’d forgotten to make a lunch. So, my margin was rapidly shrinking.Arriving just minutes before class, I was quickly oriented to the place and given my not-so-flattering bike shoes. (But what shoes are flattering when you wear a size 12?) I found my friend and my bike… and, with some help, I got my shoes locked in. Off we went. The workout was great. About 80% into the class, just when I thought I couldn’t make it any further, the instructor announced that the next song was for us to use how we wanted. As the lights were dimmed and the beat of the new song slowed considerably, he instructed us to use our hand towels to cover the monitors that showed our progress. Words like, “You can pray, breathe deeply, or meditate” were offered as guidance.I breathed deep, closed my eyes, and enjoyed catching my breath. At some point in the song, I looked around the room. Everyone else had responded in a similar way, except for one woman on the front row. While everyone else was slowing down, she was speeding up.[bctt tweet="God values rest… and we should, too."]There was a day when I would’ve admired her. There was a day when I would’ve felt compelled to match her intensity, but gratefully, that wasn’t my response. In a literal way, I’m sure she had a good reason. Yet I think each of us would benefit from taking a deep breath. After all, there were two more songs ahead and we were quickly going to be asked to come back to full speed.The same is true in our lives. Take time to cover the monitors in your life and catch your breath. God values rest… and we should, too. He knows the pace will soon pick back up.What does it look like to “cover your monitor” today?