I have two distinct childhood memories of Mrs. McD (not her real name). First, I think she was more Catholic than the pope. If my parents knew how many times she tried to convert my brother and me to “the mother church”, we would have spent less time over at the McD’s. But she had two sons who were our ages and they lived only three doors from our parsonage home in the village of Ticonderoga. Second memory, Mrs. McD exhibited another area of avid devotion: food.

One summer afternoon, her son (and my pal) Ronny proudly announced that his mom had bought a new Schwinn bicycle and was going to pedal away the pounds. Sure enough, around 4:30, Mrs. McD was seen bicycling past our house heading toward Main Street. However, since it was all downhill, she was more precisely braking toward Main Street. We waited to see how she would do on the uphill part of the trek but she must have pedaled by when we weren’t looking.

This pattern continued for several days. Like clockwork, Mrs. McD schwinned down Portage Street at half-past four and mysteriously reappeared at home shortly thereafter. This amazing anomaly demanded further investigation which eventually revealed another subtle but significant pattern. Shortly after Mrs. McD coasted past our house, Mr. McD followed in their ’59 Fairlane 500. Ten minutes later, the Fairlane returned, but with a different (and decidedly more rotund) driver! Another short wait was rewarded with the sight of Mr. McD walking the bicycle uphill toward home. For some reason, this peculiar exercise program was soon deemed ineffective and an ad for a little used Schwinn Cruiser appeared in the Ticonderoga Sentinel classifieds.

Mrs. McD’s experience is not that unique. Whether the goal is losing weight or gaining a deeper knowledge of the Holy, all of us have started an “exercise” program that resulted in failure. We recognized the need, had the best intentions, may have even invested in pricey equipment. But sooner or later, none of these were sufficient to keep us going.

Fortunately, there is a simple solution that would change the outcome. Hebrews 11:24-25 describes it in these words: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another. ”

The “secret ingredient” is called fellowship where we all become each other’s personal cheerleader. Here's the key: don't wait for someone to approach you about joining them in the journey. You need to invite someone to join you in your spiritual exercise program. It will put on a “Schwinning” smile on both your faces!

Blessings,