Take Care of Your Temple

Let me just start by saying that I am not a fitness expert. I have never considered myself athletic. In fact, for most of my life I avoided any activities that even closely resembled a sport! Lots of us have tried exercising for the wrong reasons: to look like a superstar, to gain someone’s inappropriate attention, to reach an unrealistic goal weight, etc. However, God wants us to be fit and healthy because that is what is best for us, that is how He created our bodies to function. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) When God gives us a task to do, He wants us to have enough energy and strength to do it and do it well. I will not bore you with the ever-so-long list of the benefits of exercise that you’ve probably heard before. Let me just share my fitness journey with you and hopefully encourage you in an area where I have needed encouragement.



Three months after I gave birth to my first child, a friend who was also a new mom invited me to try out a weight training class at the Radford Recreation Center. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect or if I would actually stick with it. I was just tired of wearing the same old maternity clothes. It was a little intimidating at first. I did my fair share of tripping all over myself as I tried to learn the moves. There were days when I didn’t feel like going (Let’s face it, lying on the couch is definitely easier and there will always be something else on that to-do list!), but I made myself go anyway and was glad I did. I enjoyed building relationships with the other people in the class; was proud of myself for doing something healthy; and loved how relaxed I felt after I burned up all the stress from my day. I went to that class for over 5 years and have actually been teaching it for the past year.



You have to start with where you’re at right now. You can’t wait until you get into shape to go to the gym, or you may never get there. You have to experiment a little bit to figure out what type of exercise you enjoy (or can at least stand). You have to find what motivates you to stick with it. For me, I had to pay to take a class. Then I would make myself go (to get my money’s worth). Once I was there, I would try really hard and not give up during a tough exercise because all of the other people in the class were not giving up either (that’s the good kind of peer pressure). Believe it our not, hard work actually feels great! “But I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27) Find what works for you and go for it! Take care of your temple!

-Anna Spraker