Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Hard Bodies/Soft Souls


I have been attending a "hard bodies" exercise class on Monday mornings at Gold’s Gym for the last four years. Sometimes I am a little hit and miss, depending on my schedule. The other women in the class, young mothers in their 30s, did not quite know what to think of having a Sister in the class.
They warmed up to me as we all struggled through core exercises. Together, we groaned, had sore muscles and wondered why we kept coming back to class and putting our bodies through this workout. As a result, we have developed a common bond.

I have valued these women and their friendship. They always give me a fresh perspective on family life, juggling schedules to include workouts, jobs, husbands, children and school schedules. We have exercised a bond of friendship, care and encouragement for another.

When I didn’t show up because I was working at Starbucks, they came in to see me and buy coffee, asking when I was coming back. We often inquire about a person misses class. About two months ago, I invited the women to the monastery and to do a meditation/prayer class afterwards, called “Hard Bodies, Soft Souls.” They jumped at the idea and pursued making a time and date that we could all agree on.

Not knowing how many women would show up, I was surprised that six women found their way to Saint Benedict’s Monastery for noon prayer, a tour of our sacred spaces, lunch and prayer and meditation time. They all seemed to enjoy the experience.

When I got back to my office, a couple had e-mailed how much they enjoyed the day and asked if we could do it again. The next time we had class, the women asked when we were going to schedule the next one.

One young woman told me that the day had a large impact on her. She made some major life decisions for healing, truth and abundance for herself and family. Another woman overheard us and asked if she could join us the next time. It reminds me of the quote from the book of Esther: “For such a time as this…” Community is best formed when it’s a movement of the Spirit, souls coming together to form the body of Christ. Let us be Christ for one another and bring each other to Christ.

1 comment:

  1. What a wonderful post!!
    And this is how you will move this monastery into the future as a center where people are encouraged to integrate their spirituality into the whole of their life as Jesus intended it to be in the first place.
    Bravo!

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