I try to do fitness things everyday…or every other. *wink* I am not in the best shape of my life, but I do try to move and make room for a few more oreos. I have a half marathon I am supposed to be training for, but the weather had other thoughts, so I have just been sticking with my trusty Street Parking workouts. Today that involves burpees.

If you don’t know what a burpee is, you are not missing out on anything, but definitely give that a google to see what it involves. For those of you who love to do burpees – well, I hate you. Just kidding. I love you. But I hate burpees. Some people say burpees are just like falling down and getting back up. I excel at falling down. It’s the getting back up part I struggle with.

I suppose this is true in life too.

It doesn’t take much to fall down, does it? One bad decision, a thoughtless word, or a careless act and down you go. But getting back up? That takes some time. It takes an effort on your part. Just like a stupid burpee.

When you have fallen to the ground in full out burpee mode, you have to maneuver yourself back up in order to, well, do more burpees. You use your arms to push yourself back to a plank position and then you jump (or, in my case, step) your feet back in so you can pop up with a fun little jump. My “fun little jump” just happens to resemble a creepy jack-in-the-box. Who thought that was a good toy for a young child?

When you have fallen to the ground in life, you can look to the bible for some help in gracefully getting back up. Hebrews 3:1 tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus. Imagine that as you are pushing the palms of your hands into the ground and using your strength to muscle yourself up into a plank position. Now that you are there, you need to jump (or step) those feet in so you are ready to pop yourself up – gracefully, of course.

After doing just one burpee, when I find myself in plank position, there are a lot of negative thoughts in my head. My wrists are weak, what if I collapse? I have no core stability, what if I hurt my back? I have two choices when this happens, repetition after repetition. I can quit – or I can focus on the One who gives me strength. I like to remember Philippians 4:13. I know this verse isn’t talking about having physical strength to do one, or one hundred, burpees. But it is God who gives me strength to be content, obedient, and renewed. It is His strength that helps me get into position to pop-up and His strength that helps me clench the next rock I am using to climb out of the valley.  

As I am renewed by his strength, I am prepared to peek over those rocks from the mountaintop. To peer at the beautiful landscape and remember the lessons I learned in the valley below. Keeping my eyes fixed, I can remember 2 Timothy 1:7 as I pop myself back up and get ready to do the next rep. God did not give me a spirit of fear. He gave me a spirit of power, love, and self-disciple.

And trust me when I tell you there is a lot of self-discipline involved with the burpee. And with life…

Truth is, we need God in this life. We don’t truly know how to fully live without him. I also happen to need Him to complete a burpee. And whether I’m doing a burpee or trying to think positively about an unpleasant situation, I can lean into the courageous spirit I have been given. This is the spirit that leads me in love.

I can’t tell you I will ever love to see burpees in a workout, but I sure do love the reminder they represent to keep pushing. Take care to focus, breathe, and make every rep – every thought, every move – count.

~ D 🙂