Goodbye, Fitbit!

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Late last Summer I purchased a Fitbit thinking that it would help me on my journey to a healthier lifestyle. For a while, it was fun. I was able to see how much or how little I was actually moving in a day. It tracked my weight, exercise, water intake, and even gave me a cardio score.

The information was helpful but it didn’t take long for me to become obsessed with tracking everything!

I was constantly checking my wrist. Exercising became a chore. I had to make sure that I was moving at just the right pace for a specific length of time in order for it to “count”. We have a history of heart problems on both sides of the family. So, I became obsessively worried about my cardio score and resting heart rate. So much so that I’d be checking it all hours of the day…even when I’d wake up in the middle of the night!

At the start of the year, I began praying and working toward being healthier in all areas of my life. Spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally. It didn’t take long to realize that I needed to take my Fitbit off! What was meant for good, was actually causing me harm!

I replaced my Fitbit with a good-old-fashioned analog watch and I’ve noticed a world of difference in my overall health.

I’m now able to change up my exercise routine and target different areas that I want to work on instead of just walking on the treadmill. I’m sleeping better at night not constantly thinking about my heart rate and whether it’s “healthy” or not. Instead of obsessively tracking everything I’m now focusing on little ways I can be healthier every day!

And it makes me wonder what is something we are clinging to Spiritually that might actually be hindering us in the long run?

For me, that was reading the Bible through in a year. I do think that it’s important to be in the Bible daily and I would encourage every Christian to read the Bible cover-to-cover or chronologically at least once in their life. Our family has done this for many years, both together and separately. We’ve bought the daily Bible reading Bibles, printed off the plans, and bought a couple of different audio versions.

I even read the Bible through last year but I noticed that it became more about reading it to check it off the list and less about reading it to learn and apply His truths to my life. I would spend more time trying to figure out what day I was on and whether or not I was behind than I would be actually reading His Word.

At the start of the year, I began a different form of Bible study. I picked a book of the Bible and a coordinating devotional book and dove in, completing a page or two a day depending on what’s required. Studying the Bible this way, I’m able to dive into a book of the Bible, learn, and apply His Word to my life, AND still be able to study other parts of the Bible as needed. A few weeks ago I took some time to study the story of David and Goliath when I was feeling challenged or last week when as a family we took some time to study Revelation when we kept seeing parts of it pop up and we had questions.

Now, I do want to say that this isn’t for everyone and that’s okay! 😀

Some people find lists to be helpful, others not so much. Reading the Bible through in a year is actually what got our family started studying the Bible diligently. I want to encourage you to find what it is that works for you.

I’ve slowly and steadily been making small changes to my life for months now and I am slowly starting to see progress. Right now, the progress feels like a snail trying to cross a room smeared with molasses. I keep being reminded that change is a process. It takes time, trial, and error. It’s hard and challenging a lot of the time. But anything that’s worth doing in this life is never easy; it’s through the challenges that God grows our faith and continually molds us into who He made us to be. It’s not until we look back that we’re able to see just how far we’ve come; one day at a time, one choice at a time.

“God didn’t remove the red sea. He parted it. God doesn’t always remove your problems, but He will make a way to get through them.”
(Unknown)

Until next time,

Bailey Sue