Summertime Sweat

Summer time in Texas means sweat. Summer time for the Edwards household means a twelve year tradition of summer workouts. They originally started with me spending a little time with the boys each day getting in some physical exercise instead of watching them just sit around all summer. As they grew older the workouts evolved depending on what sports they were interested in.

This summer we are getting one ready to play in college, two to play in high school, and the youngest to play in his last year of peewee football. Hard to believe. We push weights, run, sling sledge hammers, do agility drills, push sleds, flip tractor tires, and do other work. We drink lots of fluids and it seems sweat it all out. Most days our clothing is drenched at the end of the work outs from sweat.

I cannot say I always enjoy the workouts. At close to 48 years old  my body does not respond or recover from the extreme work as quickly as it used to. My knees and other joints ache at times. I am unable to do things I did back in my younger days but I still show up and do what I can. I sweat right along with them.

I am thankful for the memories I get to make with the boys. They have learned what it means to work hard not only in physical exercise but also when they have to work for money also. I hope they are learning lifelong habits of physical fitness.

The weather forecast calls for triple digit temperatures over the next week. More heat and more sweat. This is all preparation. For them they are getting ready for two a day football practices. For me I'm learning lessons of endurance in life and ministry. I learn how to push my body and my mind beyond what I think I can do. This serves to remind me that I can trust God through adversity and do more than I think I can.

Sometimes the sweat we drop is the result of hard exertion. It is the result of pushing muscles to fatigue. It is the result of expanding our lungs through running. All of this to prepare us for something.

Some reading this are in the middle of the blistering heat of their circumstances. Those who endure better are those that sweat in their souls through prayer and Bible study and meditation. Those things produce spiritual endurance and combat faith fatigue. It is not easy to keep trusting and to keep showing up for service. It is not easy to stay the course when the winds of adversity blow against us. It is not easy to endure the summer times in our lives. One thing we know for sure. Summer eventually gives way to fall and fall to winter and winter to spring. The seasons do not last but eventually change. So do the summer time of our circumstances.