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“As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him.”  Colossians 2:6 9(KJV)

I love my smartwatch.  I am almost obsessed with it.  I check my steps, exercise numbers, and all the data more times than I care to admit!  My goal is to fight aging with my watch on a daily basis!  Don’t try to tell me it won’t work!  It has become a personal contest to see if I can up my steps from the day before, workout a minute or two longer, and burn more calories.  If I have not met my daily goal, you could possibly find me running up and down my steps at 9 pm!  I will do whatever it takes!

A few weeks before Mother’s Day, my watch broke and it was not pretty.  There was no way to salvage it, believe me, I tried!  My sweet husband indicated he may surprise me with one for Mother’s Day.  So I had to wait.  I couldn’t just run to Target and get one, in case he really had  bought it.

So I waited….

I had no idea how much I actually counted on my watch for my health until I did not have it anymore.  My days were off-how could I know if I was getting healthier or burning more calories?  What would happen if I didn’t achieve a higher goal than the day before?

I literally could feel my mood change because I did not have my watch.

Mother’s Day came, and he did get it for me!  I was so excited, I could barely wait for it to charge.

But it was broken…the whole watch worked except the exercise link…I am not kidding.

So then my conversation with Apple began.  I had to send this one back in order to receive a new one.

So I waited again…meanwhile I was sure I was falling apart by not getting more steps each day and maybe my oxygen level was declining, too.  How could I even know?

As I impatiently waited for the second new watch, there was nothing I could do to make it any faster, so that finally allowed me to stop and actually listen to God.

Through some quiet moments, God asked me if I cared about my relationship with Him each day as much as I cared about how many steps I was taking.  He asked me if I checked on my progress with Him as the day wore on.  He asked me if I cared if my spiritual health was improving as much as my physical health.  He asked me if I cared to fight my deceitfully wicked heart so that eternity would be different because of the life I lived here.

I did not appreciate these questions, but they were so needed.

It was time for a pivot.  Before I got my 2nd new watch,  I made some decisions about how I would move forward.  I still check my watch more than I should, but every time I check it, I thank God for my health and the ability to take these steps.  I pause and pray as I go for a walk or run the stairs.  I intentionally turn my focus to Him before I move forward to compete against my goal by reciting a verse, thanking Him for a Truth, or confessing where I have not met a spiritual goal of living a holy life for Him.

Now my watch not only measures my physical health, but I intentionally work to allow it to measure my spiritual health.  I will never have to count my steps in Heaven, but I want to know Jesus in a deeper way so that when I walk with Him I will know Him well.

“Father, help us not to allow earthly things to get in the way of our relationship with You.”

For His Glory

Terrie Tollerson www.TerrieTollerson.com
TRBC Women’s Life