APRIL 2012 - I love going to the gym. It’s a stress-reliever, health-inducer and life-balancer, but I’m still human. Some days I just don’t want to. Some days, I look for an excuse not to go. I usually ignore the excuse, but I still look for it. The Death Crawl.
Last Monday I wasn’t looking for an excuse. I was looking for inspiration. I had my iPod, but I had forgotten to download more music. I flipped through the TV channels and found 97 or so uninspiring, mindless excuses for entertainment, but on the second time through I landed on my favorite scene from my favorite movie Facing the Giants.
It’s the death crawl scene. Brock has been mouthing off, and his coach makes a pivotal decision. He blindfolds Brock and has him make his way down the field, all 100 yards, with another player on his back. Brock doesn’t think he can make it, but his coach knows he can.
“Don’t quit! Don’t quit! 10 more yards! Don’t quit! Don’t quit! Five more! Four more!”
I might not have wanted to be there, but how could I stop or take it easy on myself, when Brock was giving it all and the coach is screaming, “Don’t quit?”
Once the scene was over, my eyes are full of water. Now, I’m trying to decide whether to change the channel. I look at the clock. I can’t remember how far into the movie this scene comes. I take the gamble. I’ll watch. It should end about the same time my workout should end.
Then, for the next hour, I’m in the zone. I’m working by body hard, but I’m also working my heart. I’m crying. No surprise, really, but at the gym?
The revival at school.
The boy who reconciles with his father.
The coach gets a new truck.
The locker room scene where the coach–and then a player, says to God, “Win or lose, we’ll praise You.” David’s field goal. The win over the Giants.
The second big locker room scene, where Coach Taylor asks player after player what is impossible with God.
And, the ultimate heart-tugger and tear-jerker, when Coach Taylor learns his wife is pregnant. He places his hands on top of his head, sobs and says, “God you have overwhelmed me.”
I cried through every last minute of it, like I do every time I watch that movie. It’s then that I realize I had spent an hour and 20 minutes on the adaptive motion trainer. I didn’t care. I had 45 minutes in the weight room to go, but I didn’t care.
This was worth it. I needed a reminder that with God all things are possible. I needed to recall that David was a giant killer and to remember that I have been overwhelmed by God’s goodness in my life.
My body needed exercising, but my soul needed it more.
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