Working Out the "Core"

So I've been on a little exercise kick for the last two months and I have to say it feels great. About two months ago I decided to start running and working on my upper body, part of it in preparation for the 20+ miles of hiking (and some climbing) and the other part to get in shape. In that span of time I have seen many positive changes in my overall health. I've lost probably about twenty to thirty pounds of fat and added some muscle. Good stuff. I THOUGHT I was getting in shape...that was until I started a little boot camp. Haha. I laugh to keep from crying. Nah, not really, but wow, what an eye opening experience boot camp is. Sure, I WAS getting in better shape by running, but there is so much more to "being in shape" than being able to scoot along the pavement.

We've been working on the core...and ouch. I didn't realize just how weak my core really was. That got me thinking, how many of us think we are in shape physically, mentally, and/or spiritually and yet...we aren't? I would venture to guess that most people would say "I have room for improvement, but overall, I am in good shape mentally. (or physically, etc...)" Heck, last week I would have said the same thing about me "being in shape." See, most people are in "decent" shape, but when it comes down to the core of things, we are very weak.

It took a wilderness trip, a trip that sent me high up into the clouds, traversing steep, narrow paths, by myself, to realize just how out of shape my spiritual core had become. Its human nature to look at the surface of things and think "I have it all together" or "that person has it together." We put on masks, we put on fronts that tell people that nothing is wrong, we are "in shape" and we've got it together. Move along...nothing to see here... Wrong! We need, I need, everyone needs to take an introspective look at themselves. On the surface we may be ok, but how are we at the core of things? It isn't until we take this inward examination of ourselves that we can truly get "in shape."

Sure, working the core hurts...it drains you. You will be sore, but in the long run its worth it. You see we can hide our core from people. We can mask it and give off appearances that everything is ok. I fooled even myself when it came to my spiritual and, recently, my physical health. Sure when I came down the mountain, I was sore, but the Spirit stirred inside me. God wanted/wants to let His light shine through me. That spiritual "soreness" I felt has led to a healthier walk with God. Physically I hurt right now, but by the time this is over (and that is if I don't re-up, which I totally want to do) my core will be in much better shape than when I started. That's good news. When we work on our core, be in spiritual, physical, or mental, we need to emerge as change/transformed people. Otherwise we've somehow missed out on what we needed to accomplish. I wouldn't trade the soreness, physical or other, for anything else. I want to feel this pain because I know that a work is being done under the surface. It may be a clichéd phrase, but it stands true..."No pain, no gain."

So, my challenge to myself and to you is to strengthen the core. Take less time looking at the surface and instead look beneath the surface. Dispose of masks that you wear. The beauty that you have isn't in your mask, its in what lies beneath the surface. What needs to be "worked out" in your life? What needs to be cut out? Take the risk, dare to succeed in great ways. God's calling you to examine your life. What's at your core?