When I prepare a horse for competition, I want to make sure that he is fit in all areas.  He must be fit physically.  This means that he is ridden at least 5-6 days a week to prepare his muscles, ligaments and tendons to become fit enough to stay sound.  He must be fit in the area of heart and lungs.  His lung capacity must be fit enough to provide the air for the whole race, not just part of it.  The heart must be fit enough to pump the air through the blood to the extremities.  I am continually working with people who are not aware of the importance of having their horse in top condition.  I am amazed at how many people stand their horses in stalls with no exercise or work,  and expect them to run hard and stay sound when they enter them.   

The horse must be fit mentally.  He must become seasoned to all of the things that he will face as he competes in different arenas.  This requires a lot of time spent walking around and up and down the alley way - cooling them mentally and letting them look at all the different things around the arenas.  Being fit in all areas makes a tough, long lasting competitor that can have a productive life. 

People must be fit in three areas to have a productive life, full of peace and joy.  I have lived through several months learning how easy it can be to go out of whack in one area and how that effects the other two areas.  The three areas that I speak of are our body, soul and spirit. 

 In July of this year, I was as fit as I have ever been since the two shoulder surgeries.  Life was fun and I was enjoying having 5 really good horses going plus some colts coming up behind them.  I had paid entry fees to several fall futurities when I broke three bones in my foot.  I could either pull their shoes and forget the futurities, or try to get them there with the help of others.  Jeani Reiman offered to ride them at the futurities.  My farrier, Jack Horsey, offered to help in any way he could.  Kathie O Brien and Barb Boyer offered to help me keep them fit and legged up and keep seasoning on them.  My husband, George started doing most of the chores and helped in many other ways.  I started off on a journey that took me WAY out of my comfort zone. 

The pain in the foot was keeping me from getting much sleep at night.  So, my physical fitness was the first area to start deteriorating.  I could feel myself starting to slide downward and soon was fighting to stay up and keep everything going.  Add some other things to what was going on in my life already,  like my computer e-mail carrier going off for nearly three months, my brother had a bad health scare and his son had a tumor growing on his neck about the same time.  I had two people dear to me pass away and two others have open heart surgery.  My granddaughter took a spill at my house and passed completely out.  As we rushed her to the emergency room, I thought she had died.  Two divorces were announced by people close to me and that was really upsetting.  All kinds of things were happening all at once....too many to mention.  I think it is called LIFE.  

If you or someone you know are going through the fires of tribulation, then this devotion is for you.  As I walked through all of the events since July, I learned the absolute importance of staying fit in the race of life. In 2 Timothy 4:7, Paul writes that he has fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith.  There was times when I wanted to pull the covers over my head and resign from life.  But, the words of Paul reminded me to get up and fight.  It isn't always easy to fight through when tiredness overwhelms your body.  When your body is tired, your mental attitude starts down and soon, the spirit where Jesus resides is all that is holding us together.    Jesus promises us that He will walk with us and hold our hand.  He even said:  "my grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."   It is the Word of God that you have hidden in your heart that will carry you through the tough times.  Jesus is the Word. 

It is now Christmas Eve.  The futurities are over.  The horses won over $17,000.  Two of them sold and are already winning for the new owners.  The Dr.'s found nothing life-threatening wrong with my brother.  The large swelling in my nephew's neck has been removed.  We have learned a lot about breath holding children and were blessed to discover that 95% of the children that have this disorder outgrow it. The two friends who had open heart surgery are up and running again - better than new.   The deaths and the divorces have not turned out nearly as good.  Not everything in life turns out good, but Jesus has promised that all things can work to our good.  It is a simple matter of staying strong in spirit and growing from all of our trials and from all of our blessings. 

May this devotion cause you to remember that when the core of our lives and the basis for our belief system is Jesus Christ, we will always triumph.  2 Cor. 2:14   Stay strong in your spirit and it will carry you through the trials of life.  Don't lose sight of the fact that Jesus came to give us not only a bright promise for eternal life, but also to give us help for today.  Celebrate His birthday by thanking Him for all He has given us!             

Merry Christmas