Day Four: Movement

Gratitude Journal – Movement

God, today I thank You for movement.

Am I allowed to be grateful for something I so often neglect or take for granted? I’m going to assume so—especially during Lent, a time of renewed spiritual discipline. In fact, it’s probably a good thing. How many joys from God do we overlook simply because they are constant? Or, in the case of movement, because sometimes we just want to sit down or simply don’t feel like moving?

Movement is like a Christmas gift that we were so excited to receive, only to put it on a shelf to admire rather than use.

I think about movement a lot—though, ironically, I often do this thinking while firmly planted on the couch. My biggest problem, besides being lazy, is that many of my big ideas come at night. I tell myself, I’ll do that in the morning—exercise, hobbies, doing more things for and with my family. And then... nothing happens. I digress. But the point is, we are all more similar than we care to admit.

Today marks the beginning of the 8th grade girls' postseason volleyball. Watching them grow throughout the season has been a reminder of how movement shapes us. They have become stronger, more confident, more in sync. They move through space better. They will improve the most by playing, yet they will also improve simply by growing. They will be a remarkably different team as they continue to develop over the next 4 years.

But let me take a step back before I confuse everyone. Yes, I could have said, God, today I’m thankful for sports, or for volleyball, or for exercise. But the deeper truth is that I am grateful for movement itself. Just like the 8th grade volleyball team, we get better at movement by doing it.

The injustice we do to ourselves is believing that, at a certain point, we no longer improve with age. But I’m not sure that’s true. It isn’t true because the goal isn’t to be the best in the world—it’s to be the best us. And this applies to movement in all its forms, not just sports.

Not just in sports, but in the rhythm of a pen on paper, the clicking of keys on a computer, a pianist at the keys, a craftsman at work, a gardener tending the soil—whatever hobbies or interests we have, or even just the work that needs to be done in our lives. We were made to move. After all, we have far too many appendages to have been created for sitting still. And it’s not just about our physical health—movement is vital for our mental and spiritual well-being too.

As a pastor, much of my work is thought work. I don’t often get to see the completion of projects. Things may be finished, but it’s hard to see the end result. It’s like teaching—did we really make a difference? This is why one of my favorite summer activities is mowing the lawn. Besides the joy of being outside, there’s the satisfaction of seeing something done. On my grumpy days as a pastor, working in a factory sounds appealing for this very reason—work a shift, make a certain number of doodads, and know that something was completed.

We were made for movement. We were made for relationship. We were made to share the light of Christ by being His hands and feet in the world.

My hope for myself—and for you, if I may be hopeful on your behalf—is that we won’t neglect or take for granted the movement God has given us. Whether it’s writing, walking, music, dancing, crafting, cooking, or gardening, may we take time to do it.

Not because we have to be the best in the world, but because we are called to be present—to be a better version of ourselves, to fully live in the bodies we’ve been given. We often measure success by excellence, but I am far more impressed by those who simply show up and keep going. The latter seem to have a way of finding excellence along the way.

There is truth to the phrase, If you don’t use it, you lose it. In fact, that fear lingers in many of us. Sometimes, though, fear alone isn’t enough to get us off the couch. But we don’t have to be perfect. We don’t have to be the best. We simply have to begin by being.

There’s a book that you don’t even have to read because the title speaks volumes: Relentless Forward Progress. May we take this gratitude we have for movement and turn it into appreciation—an appreciation that moves us to action.

May we move today, in whatever way God has given us.

PS. There is another song that could go with this. Do Something by Matthew West