The Groove...

Ok, two posts today. I just have to do it.

The earlier post was about getting back in the groove. That was before my workout.

Now, here is what I think after my workout.

The groove is this- just doing what God said to do. When we are disobedient to His voice we find ourselves stumbling, bumping into stuff, charting new territory by accident and ending up in places we never intended to be.

It was super hard for me to get in to the Kroc Center to do my workout today. REALLY HARD. But I knew it was an issue of obedience. The sky would not fall the world would not end if I didn't go, but my God told me that today was the day He wanted me to get back into training. So now let me tell you what happened...

First, as hard as it was to get out the door, I was right on time to get the kids in the play care, buy my class token, get changed and get in the pool - only God could have orchestrated that because I was running about 15min behind my planned schedule when I left the house.

Second, I got to the pool and I was the only one there for the class. I introduced myself to the teacher and he told me how to put on my cap and goggles - and didn't make me feel stupid about it. He asked what my goals were for the class. I told him about the triathlon. he said he thought I had plenty of time to learn what I needed to for the race. He then began coaching me on the biggest thing I have never done in the water - breathe! I can do almost all the strokes ok, but I never learned how to put my face in the water and come up for air while I was swimming. He gave me several different drills and told me I was doing great... that was cool...

THEN I started doing it... and I kept doing it... and he kept giving me different things to pay attention to and I could still do it! The main thing he did that was a major eye opener to me was that I was using my legs too much. That exertion alone was wearing me out too fast. So he gave me a kind of floating device to hold with my legs so I concentrated on just pulling with my strokes. He was so excited for me. He kept saying how great I was doing and I told him "I want this really bad!" He said it showed by my fearlessness when it came to trying whatever he would tell me to do.

By the end of the class he told me that if the race was tomorrow, I could do the swimming portion well. That more practice would only make me better and faster. I was very excited about that.

The BONUS was I met another stay-at-home mom who while she has swimming experience, was in the class to prepare for a triathlon in Denver in July. She has 2 sons and we really connected and encouraged each other. It was great. We exchanged emails and phone numbers.

Then after we said goodbye I went and got changed. I went to get on the scale to see what damage had been done from my flu bug and then the "bounce back" weight gain... and I had lost a couple more pounds. I then did a body mass index caliper thing - still don't know what exactly it is called. I had lost a total of 12 pounds of body fat, with only 3 pounds of muscle loss after my flu bug. I talked with the trainers that have encouraged me, and they asked me to fill out a feedback report so others could see what I was telling them.

FINALLY, a dear friend who works there was teary eyed and asked me if she could walk with me to pick up the kids. We talked. She cried. God spoke through me the comfort she needed. Definitely a Divine appointment.

There ya have it... THE GROOVE. Obedience and the blessings that come with it... AND I had a great day with my sons too, playing ball in the back yard, Peter asking me "run with me Mommy" and without hesitation I did, at peace, enjoying ALL the life God gave me to live. Praise the Lord!