A Lesson on Health and Fitness -with Addison and Renee
Written by: Rebecca Holsapple

Addison was running as fast as she could, her heart was beating fast and her breathing was getting a bit ragged. He brown hair was in a pony tail but the stray hair in the front was becoming matted to her forehead.  She loved the feeling of her shoes pounding the ground and she laughed as she looked back to see her sister Renee quite a ways behind her. Racing was her favorite thing to do; she would challenge Renee to a race at least twice a week while it was nice out and won every time. She reached their house, a big white farm house she had lived in all her life. She sat in the porch swing and waited for Renee to get there.

“I won!!” she shouted proudly as Renee was climbing the front steps.

“Of course you did!” said Renee with a smile as she wiped the sweat off her brow. “You always do!”

“You are getting faster though; I noticed you were keeping up with me for quite a while this time.” said Addison, not in the least condescending.

Renee beamed; she loved her big sister and admired her running skills. They were only one year apart, but Addison was definitely the more athletic of the two. Renee enjoyed sports as much as any girl, but for Addison is was a passion.

Renee went and sat by her sister. They were almost the same height now. Addison was 11 and Renee was 10. They looked quite a bit alike with their big hazelnut eyes, Renee’s hair was more auburn, but a lot of people would mistake the girls for twins.

“Let’s go in and get cleaned up before supper. Mom is making my favorite! Chicken and broccoli casserole! Yum!” said Addison.

Mom was setting the table when the girls came back from their bedroom after changing into some nicer clothes; they both went to help her. Dad was going to be home from work any minute and that was always one of their favorite times of the day. They loved to all sit at the table as a family and talk.

Dad walked in the door and the girls ran to hug him.

“Hey Dad!! How was your day?” asked Addison and Renee.

Mom came and hugged Dad too. “Let’s all sit at the table and Dad will tell us all about it, I’m sure!”

The girls sat down and Dad came to join them after washing his hands.  Mom put the food on the table and they all bowed their heads. Dad prayed.  “Lord, we are so thankful to have you in our lives. We thank you for all the blessings you have given us; health, a nice house to live in, food to eat and family and friends. Help us to grow closer to you, Lord. We ask you to bless this food we are about to eat and bless the remainder of the day. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”

“Amen” said Mom and the girls in unison.

“So girls do you want to know what happen today at the Health and Fitness clinic?” asked Dad.

Dad was a physical therapist as well as a dietitian. He had started his own office just two years ago and things were going so well that he had decided to start holding special clinics about health and fitness twice a month so people would take interest in learning about healthy eating and exercising habits.

“Yes, I’ve been wondering how it was going all day!! I was sad I didn’t get to come because of school. Can you please hold the next one on a Saturday? “asked Addison.

“Yes, I thought about it, and Saturday is probably better than Friday, I’d be able to reach out to some younger kids that way …”

“That’s awesome Dad! I’ll be there to help you for sure! “Addison had wanted to go to the last two but they had both been scheduled during school hours.

“Anyway, it was an interesting meeting. I had about 10 people there. We really went into the importance of staying fit, different things people can do without having to go to the gym. A couple there had several allergies to different foods and asked about different options for them to eat healthier.  The neatest thing was that after the meeting an elderly man came up and we got to talking about the Lord and he asked me if all of my talk about being fit and healthy had anything to do with my faith. We had such an interesting conversation! I ended up inviting him to come to our church on Sunday.”

“That’s wonderful, honey” said mom. “If you want we can have him over for lunch afterwards.”

“Well, sorry I didn’t ask you first, but I already did that.” Dad chuckled. Mom looked at him with a smile and a knowing look. Dad did this on semi-regular basis so she was not surprised.

“And girls, I told him about you and he is bringing his grand-daughter along, I think she is your age.”

“Oh cool!” said Addison and Renee. They both started chatting about what they could do on Sunday with their guest.

Sunday morning the girls put on pretty matching purple dresses, they helped each other brush their hair while talking about the coming meeting of a new friend.

“You know, I was thinking about it, and I was wondering if she is going to like the same things we do…like running or riding bikes.” said Renee.

“I don’t know but we need to make sure we ask her… maybe we could play soccer after lunch!” replied Addison.

“That’s a great idea…I don’t know anybody who doesn’t like a good game of soccer!”

“Hey, did you wonder what dad meant when he said they talked about what being fit and healthy had to do with his faith?” asked Addison.

“Yeah, I never thought of it as something spiritual…it’s always just been part of the way we live.” Renee looked at Addison with a puzzled look. “I’m sure we’ll find out this afternoon!”

After breakfast, the girls quickly brushed their teeth, grabbed their bibles and went to the car. Mom and dad were right behind them. There was sense of anticipation as they rode to church, for the morning service but also for what was going to happen after church.

The girls went to Sunday school and told their teacher Sister Patience and their friends all about having special guest over at church today and over for lunch before the class began. They wondered if the girl had been too shy to come to Sunday school because it was just the usual group.

After church, the girls were standing by their mom and dad waiting to meet their new friend. An old man came up to their father and shook his hand. “Thank you so much for inviting me, Tim! I really enjoyed it. This is my grand-daughter Amy.”

“Oh it’s my pleasure, nice to meet you Amy. This is my wife Carla and my daughters Addison and Renee.” “Girls, dad said turning to them, this is Amy and her grand-father Mister Bart.”

“Nice to meet you, Addison and Renee said at once.”

Dad and Mr. Bart started talking and Amy came to stand by the girls.

“So grandpa told he met your dad at a health and fitness clinic. Do you girls go to those?”

“We haven’t gotten to go in a few weeks, but when dad holds them on Saturday, I love to go.”said Addison

“I think it sounds like fun.” said Amy “I have to say though, when grandpa said it had something to do with God, I didn’t understand.”

“Well…to be honest, we aren’t sure either. We love to exercise though, running and bike riding are our favorites!”said Renee.

“I like soccer. It’s my favorite; I’m part of a league!” Amy said with a smile.

The girls were thrilled to hear that! They smiled right back. “That’s great; we were just saying earlier we could play soccer this afternoon!”

“That sounds awesome! But girls, when grandpa and your dad start talking about what exercising and eating healthy has to do with God, I want to hear what they have to say. Okay?”

“Not a problem! We want to know too!” Addison replied.

The whole family got in the car, and Mr. Bart and Amy followed them home in their truck. Once home they all enjoyed a nice meal of grilled chicken and veggies on the barbecue.  The conversation was casual, they talked about where the girls went to school, plans for the summer vacations and when the next health and fitness clinic was going to be held.

When the meal was over the girls offered to help clean up but mom told them she could handle it and told them to go have fun. Addison, Renee and Amy really hit it off and went to the backyard for a fun game of soccer. Mr. Bart and dad were sitting on the patio watching the girls and talking. The girls had been playing for a half hour when the adults decided to join in on the fun. Everybody had a great time and Mr. Bart was surprisingly agile for his age. He even managed to score a goal on Addison at the very last minute!

Once the game was done, mom made some lemonade for everyone and they all sat in the living room to catch their breaths.

“So Amy, your grandpa was telling me you were intrigued by what health and fitness had to do with God.” Dad started the conversation.

“I have to say it made me curious.”Amy said a bit shy.

“Dad, Renee and I have been wondering what you meant by that too.” Said Addison.

“Well, then shall I explain? ”

“We would sure like to know! We’ve always lived a fit and healthy lifestyle, never really thought it was related to our faith though.” Said Renee.

“Well, here we go, said dad picking up his Bible. In 1 Corinthians 6 verses 19 and 20 it says: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” God gave us our bodies to use for His glory, to go and share his gospel and be witnesses for Him. If we don’t take care of our bodies we may become sick and not be able to do anything for Him. When we neglect ourselves, it’s like telling God that we don’t care.

The better we eat, healthier foods, the better we feel. We want to have clear minds and strong bodies to be able to serve God to the fullest…. Does that make sense to you girls?”

“Wow! It really does! Thank you so much for explaining it!” Amy said. Addison and Renee nodded in agreement.

“By taking care of our bodies, we are saying thanks to the Lord, for giving them to us in the first place.” Mr. Bart added.

“I never thought of it that way, but it’s true! I am thankful for the body God gave me and I definitely want to use it for his Glory and in order to do that, I need to take care of it.” said Addison.

“We are really lucky to have parents that have thought us to do just that!” said Renee.

Mr. Bart and Amy went home a few hours later after a fun afternoon of fellowship. Addison and Renee were glad to have some new friends but also really happy to know that they were taking good care of the body God gave and them and determined to use them to bless Him.

The End