Stay Healthy My Friend
It’s not an easy thing to do, run a marathon. 26.2 miles of dedication, commitment and evidence of weeks, if not months and years, of discipline. I used to think I could run one if I just broke it down because, hey! I can do three miles and after all, isn’t it just nine groups of three? I just have to run my three miles nine times right? I can use the .8 remainder to make it back to my car…or the beer tent.
I thought ministry was like that too, minus the beer tent. I can do a week. Most of us can. Reflect, prepare, care, present. If I can do a week, I can do 52 of them. Right?
But we don’t run a marathon with that mindset and we can’t serve in ministry with that mindset either, for very long. That’s why the scripture tells us to run with endurance, not with lots of short bursts of energy. And because of that, the training is all different.
But what if we just run really hard until we get tired and then we go to the sag wagon and water stand for a few days and get re-energized? Sure, it’s gonna help us get back into the race but we won’t last long until we start looking for the next break, the next refuel. And because we didn’t really build habits of endurance, we’ll be there even sooner next time and more frustrated than last time. We might even get a pulled muscle because we jumped back in before we were 100% recuperated, maybe even earn a chronic injury that we “learn to live with” that gets us back to that rest stop more and more frequently until we don’t even want to leave.
But what if we trained our bodies, had a coach, dealt with the aches before they disabled our effectiveness? What if we focused on the long run and not the sprint and learned healthy habits? What if in our stride we found a runners high and a pleasure in what we were doing. What if we ran with endurance? Ministry isn’t about “leaving it all on the field” and then going to get re-energized with what’s left of us, it’s about serving God while honoring our bodies, and our minds, and trusting Him for the ultimate delivery of the spoils.
Perissos is about running with endurance. We’re about being with others that help you work through your aches and help you train weekly for the long run that is ministry. There may be times of uphill when your calves burn, or downhill when you knees are aching, and rocky ground that makes you question your balance and stresses your ankles, but with the right support you heal as you go, persevere, and keep on running. That’s what Perissos is about.
There’s a place for rehabilitation. Even the best runners tear something and need a repair facility now and again, but we need to train in a way to try and avoid those days on the mend. Focused effort, focused rest, effective ministry. So join us and let use be part of your training regiment and to steal a catch phrase from the most interesting man in the beer tent, “Stay healthy my friends.”
By Jody Jones, MA – Director of Perissos
