My Wife is Insane

She really is. For the last week she's been doing the Insanity workout program with me. This is my second time through it and her first. One thing I've noticed is that this time it's a good bit easier for me. It isn't easier, but by all means it is easier. I really want to focus on the fact that my wife is doing this. This program lives up to it's name, Insanity, and my wife has never really been someone that does hardcore exercise programs, and her taking this up has taught me some lessons about my Christian life.

A lot of people say Insanity is not for everyone, and I'll be one to admit that I didn't give much credit to my wife at first for being one who would finish it, but after enduring the first night and still doing the second, then third, then fourth, and so on, I realized anyone can do this that puts their mind to it. Honestly, I'm sure most people thought the same about me, so it's a bit hypocritical for me to assume such of her, right? A lot of times we assume Christianity is too tough for us, or we see someone seeking after God and just assume that Christianity isn't something for them, but the truth is, Christianity is for anyone who sets their mind to it, and quite often it's the person you least expect.

Insanity also gets a bit crazy, and a lot of the stretches and exercises can included some positions that one might not be used to. Of course by my second time through I've mastered them all and never make any mistakes and need no improvement. Kristen on the other hand doesn't know them yet, and isn't as flexible from the stretching so she doesn't have them down perfectly. It therefore becomes my responsibility to point out all of her flaws and make sure she gets it right from the get-go.  If only that were the case. I've still got a long way to go myself, and certainly I've gotten better (I hope) but it wasn't 3-4 months ago that my back wasn't fully straight, or that I didn't squat down for enough, or whatever the case might be. It's plenty easy for my to focus on the fault of others and improvements they need to make, all while forsaking my own, and honestly, I've caught myself trying so hard to watch Kristen that I've forgotten to focus on myself, and while my intentions are good, and I simply want to help, in the end, I sometimes do harm to both Kristen and myself, losing my own focus and possibly discouraging her instead of letting her learn herself. Quite often, we do the same thing though. We're so focused on helping others that we forget to focus on making sure we're doing well ourselves, and we end up stumbling in the process. At the same time, it's easy to become so critical of others that we discourage them more than help them, getting in their mind that they can't do it right.   While I do have better form than when I started, and I hope I'm a good example , Kristen has the ultimate example before her in the form of the workout coach. He has designed this workout and knows exactly what he's doing and how to do it. Certainly if Kristen is going to hurt herself I'll say something, but if she's simply working at something and slowly improving, I'd do better to let her keep her eyes on the "perfect" example and follow him rather than me, and the same thing applies spiritually.

Finally, I have to admit that Kristen is quite the inspiration to me. Yes, I've done it before and know that I can do it again, but to see Kristen keep at it and improve daily does encourage me to keep going. It's easy to look at those who are new to something and expect them to look up to us and be encouraged by us, and certainly those new to something that is a big change in their lives, and very different from what they're use to, but at the same time, we who have made it through and are continuing on should be encouraged by those who have decided to take up the challenge and who are pressing on despite all temptation to quit and despite discouragement and pain that may come with the choice. Hopefully we can see how that relates to Christianity as well.