Running in Recovery

 “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:8

The relationship between exercise and eating disorders usually go hand in hand.

Like most things in life, the right amount & type of exercise is a good thing! However, taken to the extreme, exercise can quickly do more harm than good.

For someone struggling with an eating disorder, their relationship with exercise is unique to the person. For some, an obsession with exercise may be the very thing that propels them into their eating disorder. For others, exercise is a way of “coping”, punishing themselves for eating “too much.”

For me, I would not say I ever had a “compulsive” relationship with exercise. Rather, I saw it purely as a means to “change my body.” I exercised with the sole goal of hoping to lose weight— to look skinner.

When your mindset behind exercise is to change your body— it quickly becomes a race with a finish line that gets further and further away.

With my history, I never thought I would get to the point of exercising for “fun” or participating in it knowing that it would make no difference on my physical appearance.

However, almost 6 years of walking in recovery, by the grace of God, I have found myself exercising to the glory of God!!!

What does that mean exactly? It has taken me a long time & a transformed heart to figure that out!

I have found that exercising to the glory of God means: when participating in exercise (mainly running for me), I find my heart and mind wandering to God, rather than myself!

While running, my mind is not obsessively thinking about how many calories I am burning or how much further I have to go. Rather, my mind goes to a posture of awe & thanksgiving.

Awe in the chirping of the birds, the freshness of the outside air, the glow of the sun, the fact that He created our bodies to be ABLE to run!

Thanksgiving in remembering how far He has brought me, in the fact that I have the ability to move my body in the way I choose…and so much more!

So how do you know you have an appropriate relationship with exercise? Its when you find your mind captivated by HIM! You find yourself overwhelmed by His glory, rather than trying to achieve your own glory!!!

I am not perfect, and I am aware I can quickly fall into the wrong state of mind when exercising. So I have set guardrails around running.

• I put plans with people over exercise. If I was planning on a run after work but my friend asks to go get dinner with her, I go to dinner! Fellowship is of utmost importance to me (& the kingdom)!

• I do not run when I am too tired or sick.

• I have friends who know my history and check on my intentions when they know I have been running a lot.

• If I ever find myself feeling overwhelmingly guilty that I missed a workout, I STOP immediately and take a break from exercise completely for a couple days (maybe even weeks).

• I try to prioritize running outside, rather than on a treadmill. When running in nature, I find it easier to be captivated by God.

Discipline is a fruit of the spirit. So check your heart. If an outsider saw you, would your exercise routine show others MORE of Christ. Or would they see someone who is defined by their exercise routine.

So, go run. Go run to SEEK Him.

To SEE Him.

Run to EXPERIENCE Him! To PRAISE Him.