I deviated from my usual Thursday night routine last night....and I'm feeling guilty. On Thursday evenings, while my sons are at football and my daughter is at band practice, I take a Zumba exercise class. I love it. Its my new passion.
Well, last night, I babysat for a friend and had to miss my class.While I had a great time babysitting and was very happy to help my friend, something was missing. I missed my Zumba. I missed my friends from Zumba class. I missed that tired feeling coupled with a sense of accomplishment that you feel when you walk out the door at the end of class.
I put on my exercise clothes and wore them all night, thinking that I would workout to my Zumba video at home after my company left. Guess what...I never did. And even if had...it wouldn't have been the same. Its just not the same when you're not there in person.
I felt restless. I had no energy, but yet I had too much energy. I made some peanut butter Reese's cup cookies for my children and my friend and her date to enjoy when she came to pick up her child. Of course, I helped myself to a couple of them as well. If I had gone to my Zumba class, I would have NEVER eaten those cookies, because I would have thought, "There's no way I am going to eat more calories than it just took me an hour's worth of exercising to burn off".
Going to my Zumba class helps me make better choices in my eating through out the week. I try not to miss a Monday or Thursday class if I can help it...because I know what happens when you start missing a class. You get out of the habit of going. You say, "I'll start back next week". Then another week goes by and another...and before long you've lost the desire to go or you're embarassed to go. You dread having people ask you "Where have you been?" when you go back the first time.
That's what happens to so many of us when we start missing church or we start missing our Bible reading time or prayer time. Something is missing and we know it. Something is off...but as time goes by, the longer we put it off...eventually it won't even seem like something is missing any more. The Bible tells us not to "forsake the assembling of ourselves together". That means that we should get together and worship with other believers. Sure, we can stay home and watch a preacher on TV or even watch a church service live streamed over the internet. But just like my Zumba class, a video is no match for the real thing. It just isn't the same. Being in the house of God and being accountable to other believers also helps us make better choices throughout the week. If you are out of the habit of attending church regularly or praying or reading your Bible regularly, its easy to keep putting off the decision to "get back in shape" spiritually.
We all need to take time out of each day to talk with God and to read his Word. The Bible actually tells us to pray continually or "pray without ceasing", which means we should be talking to him all through out the day as we are going about our daily duties. We need to learn to make that time that we spend alone with God so meaningful that something is missing from our life when we don't get it. When we miss our prayer time or Bible time, we should be restless and out of sorts like I was when I missed my Zumba class. We should miss that time with our Heavenly Father.
Recently, my fifteen year old daughter was gone all weekend on a camping trip. She was home from her trip only about 45 minutes before her Dad picked her up to go to his house for the night. I didn't see her until the following evening after work. That night, around 11 pm, I was fast asleep in my bed and she woke me up. She said "Mama, will you come into my room and tuck me in". Dazed and confused, I said ,"Sure" and followed her back to her room and tucked her in and kissed her good night and said a prayer over her. The next morning, I asked her why she had done that. She said, "No reason. I just missed you". That's how we need to feel about our Heavenly Father. We need to miss Him when he haven't spent time with Him. That really made me feel good when my daughter told me that she had missed me and wanted me to tuck her in. Did you know that your Heavenly Father feels the same way about you? He loves it when you spend time with Him, talking with Him, and He looks forward to the time that you spend with Him. Really...he does! The Bible says he rejoices over you with singing and has your name written on the palm of His hands. He delights in you, just like you delight in your own children.
Find time this week to worship in a church somewhere...no matter how long its been. Spend some time talking with God. He's just waiting to hear from you!
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