Growing Grateful

Spiritual Training Cycle: Connection (wk. 8/13)

Philippians 3:1-21

Overcoming Malaise and finding Gratefulness

My wife convinced me to try CrossFit with her in 2020.  As an antidote to our version of “Covid Malaise,” we started following a local CrossFit gym that was streaming workouts on YouTube.  What we didn’t understand until we started attending in-person classes later that year? - How much older we were than the typical CrossFit athlete!

Now in our late 60s, we are the “parents” or even the “grandparents” for many of our friends at the gym. We’ve learned to modify some of the typical CrossFit exercises (muscle-ups have become kipping pull-ups and modified ring rows, etc.), but we’ve also progressed in our fitness levels so that we are often able to keep up with people forty years younger than we are. And along the way we’ve become incredibly grateful for this community of younger athletes who have encouraged us in our own “load/recovery/adaptation” work in the gym.

Fitness Load and Spiritual Gratitude

CrossFit athletes face "load" in every workout. My wife and I have learned to push through this load during long, tough workouts, and, as a result, we’ve learned the more we adapt to physical resistance, the stronger we become. In some respects, there is a spiritual analogy here: being grateful to God, even during hard times, acts as a "load" that strengthens our spirit. It’s easy to be thankful when everything is smooth, but true gratitude shines brightest during the struggles, leading us closer to joy.

The apostle Paul understood this well. In his letter to fellow Christians who were living in the city of Philippi two thousand years ago, he wrote about “pressing on,” not looking back, but pushing forward. Gratitude helps us endure hard times, transforming our perspective from burden to opportunity for growth. It’s the same as digging deep during a WOD; gratitude can be what fuels us to keep going when we’re tempted to quit.

St. Paul often used athletic metaphors to describe the Christian journey. Just as athletes fuel their bodies with the right nutrients for upcoming sessions of “load,” gratitude fuels our spirit. It’s the recovery phase that allows us to adapt and grow, transforming life’s challenges into opportunities for deeper joy and maturity.

Practical Steps to Cultivate Gratitude

1. Track Your Wins: Keep a gratitude journal and write three things daily you’re thankful for. This builds momentum and shifts your perspective.

2. Embrace the Struggle: Recognize challenges as part of your growth. Thank God for them, knowing they’ll make you stronger​.

3. Press Forward: When life gets hard, recall Philippians 3:14: “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Let gratitude fuel your perseverance.

Questions for Reflection:

How can you practice gratitude more intentionally, both in your workouts and spiritual life?

What current challenges could become opportunities if viewed through a lens of gratitude?

Who around you needs a word of encouragement or gratitude this week?

Strong Core

Spiritual Training Cycle: Connection (wk. 7/13)

Philippians 2:1-30

In the 80s and 90s, the idealized male action movie star began to include visible abdominal muscles. We witnessed the rise of muscle-bound superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. The “six-pack” became synonymous with health. The six-pack became synonymous with strength. Much to the frustration of fitness trainers and coaches, training for a six-pack often neglected the other key components of core strength. To further the point, you can have visible abs but still have a weak “core.” In much the same way, you can be in a community but still feel disconnected. Others can surround you while you feel isolated and in despair. The core strength of a community is built on gratitude. Gratitude within a community builds Acceptance, Belonging, and Support. Gratitude builds strong “ABS” in community.

A quick anatomy lesson reveals that abdominal strength consists of more than just the visible six-pack muscles. Some muscles support flexing the spine, much like the hailed six-pack, while other muscles support spine stability. Spinal strength is required to create stability while the spine is bent or twisted. Spinal stability is required to brace the body under heavy loads. All these muscles and their coordinated movements create core strength. Any one component being weak can cause serious injury under load. The combined strength of these core muscles creates stability and resilience to injury.

As important as the various types of abs are for core strength, gratitude creates the foundation for “ABS” in community, and is critical to its core strength.

Acceptance

When a community expresses gratitude, it recognizes the value of everyone’s unique contributions, giving them a sense of acceptance. Acceptance becomes a catalyst for creativity and further growth.

Belonging

Gratitude in community takes acceptance even further by building a sense of mutual commitment creating belonging. This communal commitment to gratitude builds a shared sense of identity, values, and purpose ensuring everyone feels like they belong. 

Support

Communal gratitude then builds a cycle of giving and receiving which fundamentally changes the way people support each other, leading to deeper trust. Gratitude in community creates stability and resilience.

Jesus always shared gratitude. Before feeding the 5,000 in Matthew 14:19,

“He gave thanks and broke the loaves.” 

Before raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11:42:

“Father, I thank you that you have heard me.” 

In the Last Supper in Luke 22:17:

“After taking the cup, He gave thanks.”

Jesus never missed an opportunity to show others what gratitude looks like. And Paul’s letter to the Philippians encouraged them to do they same.

Philippians 2:1-2:

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”

Gratitude is used to build tenderness and compassion for others: acceptance. The acceptance we create makes us one in spirit and like-minded: belonging. Then by being united with Christ, we have ultimate support.

Core strength in fitness requires all aspects of abdominal strength. Core strength in community requires gratitude. When we are united in Christ, we get to share our gratitude which creates deep and meaningful connections with acceptance, belonging, and renewed support.

Questions for Reflection:

Is there a time when you didn’t feel connected within a group? How could gratitude have affected the relationships there?

How can you build gratitude in the communities you’re connected to? At work? In your family? At church?

Going Heavy

Spiritual Training Cycle: Connection (wk. 6/13)

Philippians 1:1-30

I love going heavy in the gym. When the reps in a set are three or less, get out of the way because I’m coming in. And I’m bringing my heavy gear with me. Weight belt? Check. Wrist wraps? Got ‘em. Lifting shoes? You know it. Smelling salts? Well, let’s not get carried away.

Heavy lifting is the chance to see if all the mechanical work I did paid off. If the strength cycle delivered some new strength. And no matter whether the pay-off is there or I find a new breaking point, there is no substitute for going heavy.

The same is true when it comes to strength training for the soul. Sometimes we get to go heavy. And one of the exercises I love to use is gratitude. Gratitude is strength training for the soul. And it’s especially effective when you’re going heavy.

Let me show you what I mean. Imagine that you got a flat tire, your dog threw up on your bed, your child forgot their laptop for school, and your in-laws are moving in – all on the same day! I don’t know about you, but for me, that’s going heavy in life.

God is allowing maximum load so that I can grow more like His Son, Jesus. The way I do that is how I respond to the load. And that’s with gratitude.

I’m grateful for a flat tire. It means I get to listen to more worship music while I change it. I’m grateful my dog threw up in my bed while I wasn’t in it. I’m grateful to drive to my child’s school and write them a love note to stick on their laptop. And the in-laws moving in? Well, that may be my new breaking point. But I’m grateful God is always creating space for me to have even more gratitude!

When the load of life starts adding up, be grateful – God is giving you some strength training for the soul. Don’t miss the opportunity for a workout. Gratitude is a great exercise for your spiritual muscles, especially when you’re going heavy.

Questions for Reflection:

What are some of the things you’re grateful for?

How has Jesus made you a more grateful person?