Fit for the Work?

One of my biggest concerns is whether or not I am ready for this kind of assignment.  Let's face reality, I'm a school teacher, not a construction worker.  I'm not a kid either.  So when it comes to physical fitness, I need to make some preparations.  Consider it done.  A new Planet Fitness just opened up a mile down the road - for $10 per month, I can get a good workout any time of the day or night.  My real goal is to drop a few pounds (ok, ok, more then just a few), lower my blood pressure (it's not horrible, but it does need to come down a little), and work on muscle tone.  I'm not interested in becoming a "he-man" in seven weeks - I've never been a "gym" kinda guy, so this is stepping out and doing what needs to be done.

And of course there is emotional fitness.  I've gone through a rough spell or two recently.  My mother had a massive stroke the end of May, and she passed away the first week of June.  I've been dealing with some personal issues also -- those are under control now.  I spent a few months working with a Christian counselor, trying to get my act together.  In fact, it was during this time that I decided to sign up for this short-term (maybe) mission trip.

That brings me to spiritual fitness.  Probably my weakest area at the moment.  Part of the emotional issues I wrestled with had really impacted my spiritual life.  Frankly, I was to the point that I didn't care much about anything.  Through a lot of prayer and Bible reading, I think I've regained my spiritual focus.  I attended a class on spiritual gifts recently.  It wasn't that I didn't know what my gifts were, but I really thought it would be wise to review them.  Teaching remains at the top of the list.  Leadership was next -- which was also something my pastor identified before we even started the class (even though I have never been in any kind of leadership role in this particular congregation).  I never considered myself to be gifted in leadership -- but I think this gift might be directly proportional to the level of spirituality involved in the task.  If it's a worldly project, I'm not much of a leader.  If it's a Christ-oriented project, then that's where my leadership gift becomes evident.

Also connected to the spiritual fitness aspect of this whole thing is the sheer potential of the many tasks which have been added to the project.  Those could be viewed a couple of ways.  It could be that God is showing me what I could be doing if I was focused on Christ.  It could be that God is allowing me to be tested, to see if I am ready to take on these projects (probably for me to see if I'm ready, not for God to see if I'm ready).  Thirdly, God is saying that I AM ready, and that He is opening doors so that I can do what He has planned for me.  As things develop, I will surely find out.  And of course, I will keep my progress posted here.

Not sure what tomorrow's topic will be.  Christmas kept me busy, so I didn't even begin this post until this evening.  Anyway, stop by tomorrow and see what I've decided to write about.