I stepped onto the scale and shook my head in disbelief. How can the pounds keep adding up when I try so hard to watch what I eat?
I made an appointment to see my doctor and asked him about my diet.
“You need exercise,” he told me. I grimaced. “Why not try five minutes the first day, then add a few more minutes each day until you work up to twenty?” he said.
At home I dusted off my stationary bike and began pedaling. After five minutes I felt as if I had run a marathon. Over the next week I struggled through each grueling session until I reached the 20-minute mark. But I wondered whether I could keep it up.
“It’s so boring,” I told my sister, Marti. “I keep thinking of other things I need to be doing.”
“Why don’t you use your exercise time to pray?” she suggested.
“Lord, please watch over my mother and my mother-in-law,” I began when I climbed onto the bike the next day. Then I asked for blessings for my son Jeff and his family in Oregon.
Pedaling seemed easier as I focused on others. “Dear God, please help my son Rick.” I glanced down at the bike’s digital readout: 20 minutes, 300 calories burned!
Now I look forward to riding my bike and talking to the Lord while I pedal the pounds away.
