When I first started to work out after several years of minimal effort, the cardio sessions seemed nearly impossible to get through. The first few minutes were strait up painful! My chest would tighten and burn with an intensity I hadn’t felt in a long time. It was a feeling that can only be described as– uncomfortable. But you know what? After a few minutes of that intensity, my body would start to relax and the burning would subside. And before I knew it the uncomfortable feeling would fade away, as if my body was finally beginning to understand the purpose of the pain– I was building strength and endurance.
I think life is a lot like that. It’s in the uncomfortable that you grow as a human being. You learn to treat others the way you truly want to be treated. You learn to empathize, to love, and to be loved. There are a thousand ways this life is going to make you feel uncomfortable. Some moments will be more intense than others. But I promise that you already have what it takes to overcome it if you just. keep. going. Whatever you do, do not give up. You just might start to like the uncomfortable moments. Not because they get easier, but because you get stronger. You build endurance. And that is where you really start to witness change.
My prayer is that you embrace whatever has you feeling uncomfortable in your life right now and give it to God. Let Him be the one that changes you for His betterment. One of my favorite versus says:
Rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. — Romans 5: 3-4
Trust me, the cardio days still have me feeling, for lack of better words, uncomfortable! But I know that the journey to a healthier me– physically and emotionally– is rooted in that very suffering. I know that when I continue to show up and embrace the changes being made, inside and out, I’m producing endurance and that endurance is in change making me a better person. And I’m more hopeful than I’ve ever been.
I don’t know what the future holds, and I can honestly say that’s something I’m beginning to look forward to.
With love always, Ericka
