I want to motivate you to be strong.

I want to motivate you to move your body.

I want to motivate you to create joy in your life.

And to lean on God for your strength.

When I was a sophomore in college my grandfather died. It was sudden, a heart attack, and I remember being in the movie theatre with my boyfriend watching the movie Hoosiers and being called out to the reception. (This is long before cell phones and we were actually good at letting roomates know where we were). Anyway, following my “Papa’s” death, one of the biggest worries at that time was what would happen to my grandmother without Papa.

For whatever reason, and I don’t really recall when or why it happened, but my grandmother (whom we called Bigmama, for some other reason I can’t explain because was all of 5 feet tall) had stopped doing all of the things I had watched her do as I was growing up. She became extremely overweight, sedentary and basically had my Papa waiting on her and doing most of the physical work and household chores that she had always taken care of. So, there was some worry as to how she would get along on her own.

Well, I’m here to tell you that was wasted worry. Not long after my Papa’s death, she decided to get out of her chair and begin to live. She began walking. She joined Weight Watchers and lost over 100 lbs. She rejoined her church and church activites. She began baking her zuchini bread, making jams and pickles and delivering to friends and neighbors. She got back out in her garden and tended to her daylilies, irisis, shasta daisies and her vegetables. She became the determined, disciplined, smart woman I knew from when I was a little girl. And someone I had always admired for her “smart sense”.

When I came home for weekend visits from college, law school, and afterwards, I typically made some time in the afternoons to go to either our school track or another track that had been created at a small park in my hometown. The track at the park was not paved, and was made of dirt. Sometimes I liked that better for running so would typically wind up there for my afternoon run.

Oftentimes I would see my dad there who would be doing his walking. However, almost always I would find my grandmother there walking. (These”run ins” were not planned with either my dad or her. We’d just surprise each other by happening to show up at the same time). I especially loved it when my grandmother was there. I loved seing her out, doing her thing, striding around the track, with her straight back and posture (all five foot of her). I would pass her and always give her a pat as I ran by.

One day I noticed her stooping to the ground at a certain point of the track each time she made a loop. At the end of her walk, I came up to give her a goodbye hug and asked her what was in her hand. She opened her fist and let a handful of rocks fall to the ground. She told me each time she crossed the “starting line” she picked up a rock to keep track of how many loops she made. Genius, right?

I don’t know why, but that story has always stuck with me and makes me smile every time I think of it!

I love thinking of how she did not allow the loss of her husband of over 50 years define the rest of her life. I love how she made her own decision to get healthy and then committed to staying healthy. I love how she ministered to others and took care of others. I love how she was proud of herself too (she loved us to take her picture when she was dressed and spiffy). I loved the strength she showed in the way she took care of her friends, her family, her home, her spirit and herself. I watched that and I hope I gained some of that from her.

Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or discouraged. . . for there is a power far greater on our side.

Chronicles 32:7

What strength move can we take from this? I’ve already talked about walking, which would be obvious. However, in thinking of my grandmother, I remember one time she asked me about arm exercises she could do. (she wanted help her “angel wings” from losing so much weight and. living alone wanted to be able to lift and carry what she needed.) I showed her some simple exercises she could do with light weights and also showed her how to do push ups on the wall.

As we get older we want to make sure we have the upper body strength to lift, move, carry and haul. Also, we want arm strength to catch ourselves if we trip and fall. Push ups are simple, quick and efficient. They can be done initially against a wall, then progress to a chair. When you are ready for the ground you can begin on your knees and, of course, then full body push ups on the toes is the goal. FORM is everything in push-ups, so make sure you are in alignment, no sagging in the middle and no arching your back. Get a full range of motion, regardless of which option you choose. Add your pushups in 2-3/x a week.

Thank you for being here! If this speaks to you or someone you know, please share 💚

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