Getting in shape.

I run. I workout. I'm not a 'fanatic' as some might think. I have control to keep my body in decent shape. I have the responsibility to be as healthy as I can be in order to be an effective husband, father, grandfather, pastor, and citizen of the world. In retrospect, I can do none of this 'health thing' apart from God's provision.

All my efforts are predicated on one thing. I rely on God to give me strength to do and in order to do I must learn to be. It is here that I struggle. I like to be moving and doing stuff. "Idle hands are the devil's workshop" is a line Grandma Hughes would often say. Come to think of it Grandma Meyer would often say it too. I took it to mean my life needs to be active and doing things for the Lord. While this isn't a bad thing, it can lead to personal achievement over godly guidance. In the words of John the Baptist, "He must become greater; I must become less." Resting long enough to allow divine hands to shape me into something useful is difficult but necessary for me.

Today, I want to be shaped by God's divine hand and allow Him to make me into the vessel that is useful and brings God the glory and not Randy....

Then the word of the LORD came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?”

declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. "

(Jeremiah 18:5-6, NIV)

Every drop of sweat, every hill conquered, every mile completed will be offered to God as a sacrifice. I desire that God change my looks so when others look at me they see holiness and righteousness, grace and mercy, a channel through which all these godly characteristics might flow.