Just Do It, Babe ✔
21 April, 2015
Walking into the gym last night to teach my weekly spin class, I was not havin' it. I had worked a long day at the office, I had eaten a burrito the size of my head about a half hour beforehand, and all I wanted to do was go home and sleep. Teaching a cycling class to a bunch of super intense, hardcore triathletes did not sound appealing. My bed sounded appealing.
Typing my employee ID number into the computer to clock in, one of the front desk attendants approached me. "How cool that you get PAID to workout? You actually get to have fun!" Shrugging, I told her it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I had to create playlists, write workout sets, help people set up their bikes...
Smiling, she told me to have a great class. "Yeah, easy for you to say," I thought.
Walking toward the spin room, there was already a crowd forming. "Oh, goodness, here goes," I thought. Stepping into the blacked-out cave, complete with neon lights and a lava lamp, I plugged in my iPod, adjusted a few bike seats, and snapped my bike shoes into the pedals.
Putting on a smile, I welcomed the audience, giving them the lowdown on the class: a quick 45-minute session focused on speed with lots of standing sprints.
At this point, I was mentally beating myself up. "Paige, pull yourself together! You're such a baby!"
We got started with a warmup:
3 x 1:00 seated, 1:00 standing, 1:00 hovering over seat
"That wasn't so bad. Maybe this class won't be awful after all, huh?"
10 x :30 standing sprint, :30 seated recovery
"Wow, I'm actually feelin pretty good! How cool was this, teaching my own class?"
6 x :45 sprint, :15 easy seated
"Yeah, baby! Don't hold me back now!"
5 x :45 standing build tension
"THIS IS THE BEST HOUR OF MY LIFE!"
I NEVER FAIL to kick my own butt, and this class was no different; I was drenched in sweat from head to toe. Thanking everyone for coming, I unplugged my iPod and began to pack up.
With a little skip in my step, I walked up to the computer to clock out. The same front desk attendant came up to me as before, asking how it went.
"Ya know, forget everything I told you before. You were absolutely right, teaching is AWESOME!"
"Those are endorphins, honey," she laughed. I told her I'd see her next week, and left the gym, much, much happier than I had entered it.
Walking into that class, no part of me wanted to be there, let alone teach. Yet, after just the first song, I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. How often in our lives do we feel a calling from Christ: to be examples to others, to break up with a no-good boyfriend or girlfriend, to take a new job, to join a Bible study.... and yet we brush it under the rug.
Accepting Christ into our lives isn't always easy. In fact, it can often bring struggles and major life changes. But friend, it is always worth it in the end. You will be given the "desires of your heart," you will live a life of "complete and total peace," and you'll be in God's "right hand."
Would I have felt better laying in bed at 6 PM at night? Maybe for about 5 minutes, then I would have felt like a slug. Teaching my class offered countless benefits: calories burned, friends made, and cash in my pocket.
I had made a commitment to the gym to teach, and skipping my own class would have led to serious consequences. Have you made a commitment to God? If so, are you following the guidelines, even if it's no fun in the moment? Are you trusting He knows what's best for you?
Ladies and gentlemen, our struggles can seem real in the moment, but don't give up, grow lazy, or quit. Go the distance, ride the wave, and have fun. Don't give up a lifetime of joy for moments of pleasure.
C.S. Lewis said it best: "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Listen to what God's asking of you. Be the best YOU you can be. Be a role-model, lead with integrity, and go all out, only then will we live the abundant life Jesus has for us.
& for the record, I couldn't be more excited for my next class. ☺
Paige's Kick Butt Playlist:
Zedd Ft. Selena Gomez - I Want You To Know (SCRVP REMIX)
Rhymes - Hannah Wants & Chris Lorenzo
Galantis - Runaway (JayKode Remix)
The Royal Concept - On Our Way
DJ Dreamport - "Our Party" 2013 Remix
MGMT vs. Daft Punk vs. Passion Pit vs. Gorillaz vs. Bob Marley
John Mayer - Free Fallin' (Nelsaan Tropical Mojito Remix) (Cooldown)
