“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the holy spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5 ESV
I met fitness at rock bottom, but I didn’t immediately realize I was at rock bottom. The
pain of hitting rock bottom doesn’t always set in immediately when you’ve numbed yourself with objects, activities, and people of this world. But those pleasures are temporary and when God began to strip everything away that I clung to for worth and identity, I realized I was at rock bottom. I felt damaged, worthless, and unloved and my hope was fading away fast. God literally introduced fitness into my life at this time and used it as a tool to reestablish my relationship with Him and find love in myself again. It wasn’t an easy journey. My physical body was in poor condition but my heart and my soul were even worse. As the pounds began to shed, I realized that in order to be strong all around, I had to lay everything at the Altar. This included so much more than trouble with my weight. It was issues with anger, self-esteem, jealousy, self-pity, unforgiveness, and depression. God didn’t calm the storms around me, but he did calm me. Through fitness God showed me my strength possibilities THROUGH Him. I’ve learned that endurance is key in life and athletics. This life we live is a long journey and we cannot expect to make it out on top without prep, endurance, and a relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I believe in the power of God and I believe in the power of fitness. Fitness trainers should be more than rep counters with uplifting messages. Positive and good intentions without the love of Jesus behind them are empty. God gave me the vision for Project SoulFIT when I had been praying for the opportunity to combine my worship with my love of fitness. Like I said, I believe in the power of fitness and I believe that through fitness and fellowship, we can grow and strengthen the kingdom of God. This is Project SoulFIT.
