Oh the pain...

It has been a crazy week. I have been trying to reorient my life back into the Army for my final 2 phases of of Chaplain's training. It has not been an easy transition. I have been gone from the military for over 2 years and putting the uniform back on can take its toll. Even though I am in pretty good shape, for the most part I only ride a bike during the summer and only go to the gym when the season is over, but this muscle failure and running is not my most favorite thing to do. I have felt muscles I forgot where part of my anatomy!

It will get easier...I hope.

There has been a lot of talk about keeping ourselves spiritual fit as well as physically fit. It seems hard to associate the two, because if we take time off from exercising and come back to it we can feel the pain, but if we take time off from God's word and come back to it the pain is not as much felt as physical, but maybe emotional. When life starts getting out of focus for me it is a combination of a couple of things. 1) I haven't been on my bike in a while, and 2) I have been neglecting God's Word. For me one is just as important as the other. Now I am not saying by neglecting I don't read It, but in reading It I don't take the time to make it part of my life. The term, "going through the motions," fits in at this point. It may not be a soreness, but it is a missing link through out my day. It has been a challenge to make the Word fit in my early morning routine, 0430 wake up can do that, but throughout the day I am reminded of that message that God has waken me with and it pops up and enriches my day.

We have one of the biggest classes in recent history here at the class with chaplains from all over both geographically and beliefs. I believe there are 2 Rabbi's, 2 Catholic priests, and 2 Imams as well as every Christian denomination known to man (and some I've never heard of). I have already made a friend along the way, he is my car pool partner and I one of my Chaplain's sons from active duty is hear completing the course. I was hard to figure him out. I heard his voice, but could not see who he was through the lack of hair on his head.

It has been a great week and there is still so much to be done.