Fat Body

March 8, 2018

One of the liabilities of pastoral ministry is its sedentary nature. Over the years, I’ve attended way too many pastor’s meetings where donuts and coffee were the only choice of snack fare, and watched too many of us go back for seconds and thirds which promptly got stuffed into an already ample waistline. When I first started in ministry some forty years ago, clergy were near the bottom of the actuarial risk pool; today, we’re near the top. When Annual Conference meets, the ‘body’ of Christ often looks like we need dietary intervention.

I was naturally skinny growing up. When Linda and I were married, I weighed 135 lbs at six feet tall. I would have been in the 98 pound weakling category popularized by the old Charles Atlas ads that filled the back of my comic books as a kid. But the combination of pastoral lifestyle and Linda’s good cooking began to take its toll, and at this writing, I’m struggling to keep my weight in the 180s. The body mass charts at my doctor’s office actually have the nerve to suggest that I am borderline obese!

About 15 years ago, I began an exercise regimen that I followed religiously for three months. I had been praying, and the Lord told me, “Jim, your body is my temple, and I don’t like the shape it’s in!” Yeah, I heard that in my heart. So I got to work, lost about 15 pounds and trimmed down before slowly backing off due to the time commitment it required. Gradually and almost magically, my trousers began to shrink. I even had to go to the next size. I refuse to go any further. 

I’ve used various exercise programs in the intervening years that helped keep me where I wanted to be. Until a couple years ago, I came down with a case of plantar fasciitis that stopped the cardio in its tracks. I still did some weight training, which is good for keeping muscle tone, but not so much for getting rid of the flab. So when Linda started doing a dvd two mile walk, I decided I needed to get more serious about the matter. From experience, I know that if I can get into the 170s, my occasional heartburn will disappear. 

So today, I began a new regimen, and need some accountability partners to keep my feet not to the fire, but to the pavement. Two miles to the church and back. Even in the cold, I was sweating by the time I got home, and I even think it’s going to help me ditch this plantar fasciitis business! Moses didn’t really get started on his life mission till he was eighty; that gives me twelve years before the real stuff kicks in, and I want to be physically as ready for it as I hope to be spiritually. I am thankful today for my wife’s dedication to her fitness, and for the ability God has given me to keep going. So many people younger than I struggle with all sorts of limitations; I am blessed beyond measure, and want to pass that blessing along for as long as I can.