A few weeks ago, I began following the 75 Soft Challenge. I even restarted once when I missed doing one thing on one day. I have now decided to give myself grace and to not stringently follow this challenge. Why?
I’ve learned as I age, my body is not what it used to be, and let’s face it, neither is my mind. I have the desire and even belief that I can do things which are not as achievable as I envisioned. While I believe I can do all things through Christ, good sense has to come into play as well. With my diabetes and heart issues, my body can’t take the punishment I used to put it through. There are times when I need to listen and rest. It’s a fact of my life.
Am I giving up? No. That’s not what I’m doing. Prayer has always been a part of my day, but not a conscious five minutes reserved just for that. Now it is. Reading nonfiction has always been a part of most days, now it is a daily habit. Eating healthy at least 90% of the time is now part of my daily get healthy plan and drinking at least 10 glasses of water daily is just a part of my life and has been for many years. So that leaves the exercise.
I cannot exercise 30 minutes each day. There are days when I’m running errands, doing heavier household chores, or I’m just not feeling good when exercise is not something healthy for me to tackle. There are days where the 30 minutes is easy to accomplish, and days where I can only do 20 minutes. It is important for my health to exercise, so this is part of my weekly routine. It might be four days a week, or it could be more or less depending on the circumstances of my daily commitments.
I’ve learned at my age I’m not supposed to keep up with the goals my younger inner self wants. It’s okay to admit I’m nearing 80 years old. It happens to all of us who are blessed enough to make it to this stage of life. I’m going to embrace it with grace.
Carol Ann Erhardt, Author 