I had a mini vacation to New Orleans that was awesome! However, with all the good eating, I brought back an extra five pounds or so. Go figure. So as usual, I figured it was time to get back into the gym. Last Saturday and Sunday, my husband and I journey to the gym. After taking a Zumba class, I decided to workout a little more until my husband was done so I got on the Stairmaster. Now, if you are not familiar with the Stairmaster, just think of it as walking up a flight of stairs over and over again. Since I had taken a Zumba class earlier, I was already tired but I managed enough energy to tackle the Stairmaster. After I got on, I had to choose a level between 1-20 before I could start my workout. Normally, I would choose a higher level because I thought that was the right thing to do, but that day, I was already tired and didn’t want to wear myself out. As I begin to workout, my body felt the usual challenges. Although I was not at the highest level, I was pleased with the results. As I looked to the left I notice a young lady struggling on the machine. I mean she was barely off the ground. I thought, “she must be on level 20”. After 15 minutes, I had burned over 100 calories and I it was time to go. As I walked pass the young lady I thought she had burned more calories than I had because she was on a higher level and struggling, but as I took a peak at her Stairmaster, she really hadn’t burned much calories that was surprising because of the amount of time she had spent on the machine. I thought to myself that if only she would come down a few levels, she might be able to finish the workout successful and burn more calories.

The Stairmaster reminded me of our relationship with Christ. Growing up, we are told that we have to pray and read the bible a certain number of times in order to be a good Christian. We are taught rules and not relationship so we grow in Christ comparing our relationship with others. “She is really close to God because she quoted this scripture or heard his voice.” But just as our relationship with others is different, so is our relationship with God. There is not a level in Christ that you should be comparing yourself to. When you focus to be at a certain level but not work on your relationship with God, you are struggling like the young lady that was on the Stairmaster. God is asking you for a relationship. When you are in a relationship you want to spend time with that person and talk to them. So building a relationship with Christ becomes personal and you no longer are worry about the levels but are focusing on the relationship. Sisters, my prayer for you today is for you to grow in your relationship with Christ and forget about all the levels!!!

One step at a time,

Felicia Smith