Thankful for health

Today, July 10, I'm thankful for health.

This has not always been the case, as there have been some years when I took my health for granted or was my own worst enemy where my health was concerned. When you're young you tend to think you're bullet-proof and then as you age you begin to discover that maybe exercise and healthy eating ARE all they're cracked up to be.

I made a decision a while ago that using bad knees and a bad back as an excuse for not exercising would no longer cut it. And I also decided that my food intake needed to be reduced. Since then I have shaved 40 pounds off my frame and although I still have a bit more to go to get to my goal weight, I have begun transforming how I feel, my energy level,and a great deal of my overall outlook on life.

Working out 5-6 days a week is now a regular habit, along with taking advantage of every opportunity I get to build up a good sweat working outside or with the horses. Water is now my main drink of choice. I still enjoy a good cheeseburger or pizza, only now exercising some sanity about it.

The healthier I am becoming, the more thankful I am to have the opportunity to rebuild my health. I realize that so many people would love to engage in the activities in which I get to engage, but injury or a debilitating disease has made that impossible for them. For whatever reason, in spite of my injuries (a broken neck, 2 very problematic knees- one of which has been replaced, a back that is problematic only on a daily basis), I've still been allowed the opportunity to move, lift, stretch, sweat.

I no longer take that blessing for granted.

I'll be 54 years old next week. No longer a young man, not yet an old one. But I am becoming once again a healthy man. I want the rest of my life to be characterized by me being part of the solution in each of the contexts in which I am placed. I want to be able to point people to a brighter and very possible future. I want to continue to be part of a movement that helps set people free from sexual trafficking and exploitation. I want to play full-speed with my future grandkids. I want to live, fully.

So tomorrow, I will move, lift, stretch, sweat. Thankfully.