Out Our Way: Get in shape - Psalm 138:8

Out our way, winter can be a harsh time and both Doc and I tend to spend most of it indoors. We do not ride the trails and seldom chase the cattle. Instead he settles into hay and oats and I just settle. Then comes the spring and I head to the stable, do a few laps in the round pen on the lunge line, and then I get out the old saddle. I curry Doc and he seems to enjoy it, smooth out his blanket and then lift the saddle up and onto his back. I reach under for the cinch to pull it taut and.... "Hold on! The cinch has gotten shorter!"

I used to pull it tight to the fourth or fifth notch, but now I can barely notch it at the first hole! I have to tug and pull and push and knee Doc to just barely get it hooked. And the back cinch, which is always loose, is almost snug. And Doc turns his head at me and gives me that look.

But that's not the worst of it. Making sure the cinch is tight [not much chance of it being anything else] I set my stirrups and prepare to mount. But my foot won't reach! I can't get my leg up high enough! Did Doc grow taller!

Well, I suspect you know what the problem was. The cinch didn't get smaller nor did Doc grow taller - the problem is both Doc and I got out of shape over the winter months. We both got fat! Our tummies expanded so his cinch couldn't get around his girth so easily, and my stomach got in the way of my leg so I couldn't get my leg up as high as it needs to be to step up and swing aboard. And if you thought the look he gave me when I tightened his cinch was bad, you should have seen the look he gave when I finally did get my foot in the stirrup and had to hop three times to get my other leg up and over. I have gotten to read, and understand ole Doc pretty fair over the years and there is no doubt in my mind he was saying something to the effect "Hey, Fatso! One at a time!"

Well, of course that meant both of us needed to start working at getting in shape again. A lot more time on the lunge line for him and some serious walking and exercise for me. But there came a day when it all worked. We lost that blubber, put on muscle, trimmed down and built up. Come summer, we were in shape.

We may have trouble with the English word "perfect", but it has a somewhat different meaning in both Greek and Hebrew. To be "perfect" does not mean without flaw as we often think of it, but rather the emphasis is on being "complete," "whole," " in shape!" I can never have a "perfect" build like Arnold Schwartzenegger, but I can have a "perfect" build for me. I can seek and attain my potential and be, as they said in the Army commercials, "all that I can be." The Psalmist cries out for perfection in the Biblical sense by asking for the Lord to "fulfill His purpose for me." Help me "get in shape!"

Right now, spiritually, I am a bit flabby. The "cinch doesn't fit and I have trouble getting into the saddle." Prayer, reading and above all, practicing my faith by living it is called for. Every day I can try to be a tad more aware of God and seek to be more Christ-like in my dealings with others. In my "personal round pen," I can let Christ have the lunge line and circle me as I do my self-evaluations. Do I try to see others as Jesus does - and then do I actively seek to treat them that way? It is not an easy daily exercise, but each day it gets a bit easier and becomes more natural. I don't know if I will ever really get it down, but each day I try I am making some progress and drawing closer to fulfilling God's purpose for me. Happy trails. Pard.

Be blessed and a blessing!

Brother John

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The Rev. John Bruington is the retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Havre. He now lives in Colorado, but continues to write "Out Our Way." He can be reached for comment or dialogue at [email protected].