Growing up with severe asthma and having a titanium rod through my leg from a skiing accident in high school, I never considered myself “athletic.” However, during my first year of seminary I decided - on a whim - to take up running. I started out very slowly using a “walk-to-run” program I found online, and each week I amazed myself as I increased the time I was able to run without stopping. My morning runs became my quiet time, my me time. Each footfall became part of a moving prayer. Running connected me more deeply to my body and my environment, which in turn connected me more deeply to God. Everything - the aches and pains, the infusion of endorphins, the sticky spider webs, and the wild turkeys along the roadside - was of and from God. The route I often ran while living in California included fairly steep inclines through the Berkeley hills, but all was made worth it by the breathtakingly beautiful vista of the Bay about halfway through my run.

One year after I began running, I was able to complete a half-marathon along the Pacific shoreline. As I ran the difficult 13.1 miles, I recalled scripture like “Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1) and “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). I also learned to believe in and listen to my body, and to put my trust in God. That day, I was able to achieve something I never dreamed possible.

Since that time, I have maintained a fairly active lifestyle which includes things like cycling, swimming, strength training, and yoga. I won’t pretend that I always look forward to working out. There are a million and one reasons not to work out - it’s too cold, it’s too sunny, I’m too tired, it’s too early, it’s too late, I’m still sore from my last workout, I have too much other stuff to do, my partner is out of town, or I simply don’t want to. So why exercise at all? Because no matter how I feel at the beginning of my workout or how my body cooperates (or fails to cooperate!) during the workout, I always finish having benefited in body, mind and spirit. Whether feeling my heart beating quickly as I ride along the Schuylkill River banks in Philadelphia, becoming at one with the water as I swim laps in the pool, charting an increase in my reps in the weight room, or focusing on my breath and balance during yoga class, my workouts help me to achieve inner peace, self-confidence, clarity of mind, and a renewed spirit.

Callie Swanlund is a transitional deacon from the Diocese of Chicago, currently living and serving in the Diocese of Pennsylvania.

Play Like Your Life Depends on It, It Might
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I have always been an athlete.  I remember being four and having the training wheels taken off of my bike; swimming at age five against eight-year-olds; and I remember with fondness my time as a state champion swimmer, baseball player, and multiple time All-American.  To say that health, fitness, and sport is a large part of my life and the life of my family is an understatement.... >>>

A Few Resources

Not sure where to start in incorporating a healthy emphasis on exercise, activity and play into your ministry or life? Start with some of these sites and resources... >>>