A Story from Scott

Here is a little experience that my husband had that made him think...maybe it will do the same for you. At the very least it should make you laugh.


The Trainer

I walked into the gym and met my trainer. She brought me to her office where I filled out a questionnaire about my health. Then she weighed me and checked my body fat % . As she is doing this she tells me she is going to grab my love handle. At that point my pride flew out the window and I was now in humiliation territory. As a former athlete it is hard to admit that I had let myself go and that I was out of shape and fat. She then had me do 15 squats. I got down to 5 left and then she tells me to suck in my belly to keep my core. She then starts to count over. I got down to 5 again and as I am watching my core she tells me that I should not look down but straight ahead and she starts counting from 15 again. At this point my legs feel like they are on fire as I think to myself I just got started how does this happen. I got down to 5 again and she tells me that I am not breathing properly in my nose and out my mouth and at this point I am just trying not to pass out. Finally I finish the squats and she tells me to do some push ups. I started and was pumping them out like lightning as she tells me to slow down. So after 3 I had to start all over. This time I was controlled and set to go. I got to 13 and my arms where shaking like a building in an earth quake. She then points that out to me by telling me the reason I am shaking like this is because I had not used those muscles in awhile. I was to out of breath to tell here but I was thinking not kidding Sherlock. After that she showed me how to do lat pulls as she had the weight on 40 and when it was my turn she put the weight down to 10 and said she did not want to embarrass me in front of the other guys in the area that were working out. I thought obviously my pride had already left. I did the 10 pound easily, Yeah baby. She then had me get in push up position but on my elbows and hold my body off the ground. As I was doing this my back started to arch and sag so she tells me you know why this happens is because of all the weight you are carrying around. Once again I think to my self REALLY that was such an epiphany. After that we finally did something that I could handle we sat down and did a bike ride in front of the TV. After the session I asked her what was the conclusion? Well we just keep this on file so later you can check and see how you have improved. We really can’t tell you what to work on. I told her off the record than, let me guess I need to work on my gut to get my core set.

Do we do this to people in our church?
They come for help and all we do is criticize.
Do we treat them like they are idiots or do we show the love and compassion of Christ?
How do we help those who come and need help? Do we point to the problem or do we get involved in there life to help them get healthy?
As a shepherd how do we care for all the needs of our sheep without them feeling like an idiot? It takes enough guts to ask for help, they are already broken, embarrassed and feel ashamed because of the thought of someone knowing their weakness.
This is where Celebrate Recovery has taught me to give God’s love to others and help them walk the walk.