I am not very physically active these days. I spend a lot of time sitting because I am dizzy and have a limp and get tired very easily. Exercise would probably help with the fatigue if I was consistent. But I'm NOT consistent about getting exercise and sometimes I wonder how much strength I have lost.
My husband was out of town for a few days and we got snow. The driveway needed to be shoveled off today and deicer sprinkled afterwards and I was determined to do it myself. Yes, I have 2 teenagers who were home from school because of the snow with nothing better to do than help shovel snow off our driveway but I knew the activity would be good for me and I really WANTED to prove to myself that I could still handle it.
So, while the kids built snowmen and played baseball with a stick and some snowballs, I shoveled snow. My husband told me I could wait until he got home (at around 11:45am) but he works so hard and I wanted to have the driveway cleared so he could get his suitcase, etc inside without stepping in the then-melting and slushy snow.
In the end, I got the driveway completely cleared of snow and put deicer on it so it wouldn't freeze and pose a slipping hazard. I didn't even really struggle with the job even though the snow was a wet, heavy 3" layer. The Lord ALWAYS provides me with the strength and energy for the task at hand!
I'm not even sore tonight and I feel like I accomplished something great with the Lord's help! I didn't do it for thanks or praise - good thing because I didn't get any. It just felt good to relatively easily accomplish something that I thought would be much more difficult with my Multiple Sclerosis challenges.
I'm feeling very grateful for the real-life evidence of God's power in my every day life and I am feeling a little stronger knowing the arm of my Savior is strengthening me every moment. It's not just something I say, it's real, it's powerful and it's evidenced daily in my life whether I am shoveling snow, driving the kids to and from school, grocery shopping or sharing the gospel with a neighbor. I truly believe I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength and when I am weak, I truly AM strong in Christ!