Nature’s Free Gym
A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great. Proverbs 18:16, NIV
My doctor advised me to exercise a lot to reduce my blood pressure and cholesterol. I wanted to join a gym, but I couldn’t afford it, so I prayed about it and waited for an answer in God’s good time. Some weeks later I decided to send a gift to my friend Rosa’s children. When I got to the post office, I learned that mailing it would cost double the amount of money I had with me. As I was determined to post the gift, I had to walk all the way back home to get the extra money. I walked more than four miles that day, and though I was tired and weary, I was happy I had sent the parcel.
Later, when checking my e-mail, an advertisement popped up that helped to calculate number of calories burned. After doing the calculations, I realised that I had burned 500 calories during the four mile walk. No? Yes!
See how God works? I was worried about gym fees, and He led me to His natural free gym. I realised that every day I could walk in a big park, listen to the birds sing, and watch the butterflies dip and float while bees busily went from one beautiful flower to another. I could watch squirrels chasing each other up and down the tall, shady trees and enjoy the cool wind and the warmth of the bright sun – all for free, and burn as many as 250 calories an hour.
How awesome: no need of gym fees. Two weeks after beginning a daily walk I went for my regular checkups, and my doctor was amazed.
“Both your cholesterol and blood pressure have been reduced, and you have lost two pounds! What have you been doing?” He was delighted, and from then on I walked an hour every day. Not only did it help me keep fit, but I enjoyed nature as well.
I knew that walking is good for us, but I never knew it could be so effective until the day I walked back home to get more money so I could send the gift. Jesus said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 19:19) He is right. I did it to put a little smile on Rosa and her boys’ faces with that gift, and I ended up putting a big smile on my own.
My advice, gained from my own experience, is to do something to make someone happy and see how much happier you will become.
Mabel Kwei, Breath Devotional