Today’s Word – Teamwork

The Black Belt Word for the Week : TEAMWORK

“Go, Abbi!” my husband shouted as he ran beside her, “Sprint to the finish line! GO! GO! GO! Faster!”

With a burst of adrenaline, Abbi gave all she had to run the last block to where her instructor stood timing her. “16 minutes!” the instructor hollered. I felt encouraged and anxious at the same time. Abbi was now able to run 1 1/2 miles without stopping, but she still has to shave off three minutes and 30 seconds to qualify for black belt.

Ever since Anna and Abbi declared their candidacy for black belt in November, life has been one of ever growing frustration, fear, and stress. We were once comfortable and competent care takers of diabetes, but since November, my husband and I have been thrown into a whole new dimension of the disease.

For the first three months after declaring their candidacy and the intense training began, Abbi’s sugars went wild especially on Saturdays. Their Saturday class regime goes something like this: 1 1/2 mile run, push ups, sit ups, and other aerobic exercise immediately following the run and then forms. Exercise is non stop for an hour and half to two hours. At first, I was prepared for her blood sugars to drop low, but instead they climbed higher and higher causing her to feel nauseated and sluggish. The rest of the weekend she would remain sick and deathly looking. I fretted, “I thought exercise was supposed to be good for diabetes! Should she drop out?”

We decided to continue on, there was a deeper lesson for her to learn. We wanted her to develop the attitude of “I CAN!” even with diabetes. We wanted her to learn that “When the going gets tough, don’t quit!” Diabetes doesn’t have to control her life, she can by God’s grace control it. In spite of our rah, rah, ree attitude, the question remained, “How do we get this under control? How can she safely exercise?”

After several weeks of researching, we finally understood what was needed – a team. This was a foreign concept to us. We have always tried to deal with diabetes by ourselves, with the exception of our endocrinologist. The only way, we were going to succeed was to have a plan of action. We needed to know ahead of time what kind of exercise would be required. Low, Moderate, and High impact forms of exercise requires different amounts of insulin and food. The timing of the exercise also plays upon the performance. This was way beyond us, we needed a team. In order to prepare Abbi’s body for the 4-6 hour pre-trest in April and the black belt test in May, we need her instructors’ guidance on the category of exercise and in which order these exercises would be performed. We also need the endocrinologist’s advice on preparing a 3 case scenario insulin plan, and we need input from the nutritionist as to what foods to give at what time and in accordance with her blood sugar number. There can be no deviating from the plan. Everyone involved must do their part in order for Abbi to be successful.

This reminds me so much of the purpose of the church, the body of Christ. The church isn’t just to worship Christ, it is also there to encourage and to edify one another to run the race! God also left you a plan of action so you could be successful in your Christian walk, but if you deviate from that plan, it doesn’t just hurt you but it hurts others as well. The church is a team. As you encourage others to not grow weary, you will also be strengthened in the process. But if you neglect your church attendance and assume that you can be successful on your own, you are sadly mistaken. We were losing hope about diabetes, but now that we are building a team, we feel encouraged that Abbi’s dream of black belt can be a reality someday.

All this to say, don’t diminish the role of the church in your life. If you want to finish the race that is set before you, you have to: 1) belong to the team: repent of your sins and place your faith and belief in Jesus Christ alone to save you.
2) join the team: find a doctrinally sound local church and join them. Don’t sit on the side lines.
3) be an active teammate: as you encourage those in the pew next to you, you will be encouraged as well.

Run the Race through Teamwork!

“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses a surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised tand shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.” ~ Hebrews 12:1

“So that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.” ~ I Corinthians 12:25-27