Workout

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, that though he takes us through deep, deep valleys, a mountaintop is always ahead and ultimately promised.  Life is a series of valleys and peaks, followed by the ultimate peak of everlasting life with him. 

“You’re in the Army now!” That was what one instructor yelled at the class, in a tone that necessitated regret at the beginning of the first month of basic training (for Chaplains).  But while the first month was grueling, the second month is proving just as rewarding. 

Army does training extremely well, and Chaplain training is a workout for mind, body and soul.  Paul talks about this life as training: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?...Therefore I box, and discipline my body, and keep it under control.”   To think of this life as training ground for the next is incredibly freeing and encouraging.  It promotes an eternal perspective.  It likens our suffering in this present life to the suffering one experiences in a gym, or during a long run.  It is painful, but it has a purpose, it is good for us, and it will be over soon.  Somehow, how we train in this life is preparing us for the next.  God, through his Spirit, is preparing for us bodies, minds, souls perfectly fitted and suited for his presence.  And what I am going through today is part of that process. May he grant us such an eternal perspective, and the perseverance to see it through to the end.