Come to Jesus Moments: Challenge of Change

In life we all have those moments where we are feeling on top of the world, everything is going good, nothing can bring us down. Then it happens!

Yes you know what it is, it is the unforgettable moment where an idea, person, or event shatters your perspective.

This moment or these moments I refer to as come to Jesus Moments!

Honestly, these moments are the very ones that hit you like a freight train taking the breathe right out of your very soul. These moments shape how you take the next steps in your life.

For some of us the next steps are hard we ignore them, then a few days, months, seasons, or even years later the freight train comes down upon you again. It does this, time and time again until you pay attention and make the change in your life it’s been hinting at.

For me, in particular, it wasn’t a moment, although I remember one distinct moment, it’s been moments by one individual that has pushed me farther mentally, educationally, and physically.

They have been in my corner from day one, providing support but also bringing the freight train around with it. This freight train of come to Jesus moments sucks but I have come to learn to like it.

Now you ask: "Why would I like being hit by a freight train full of moments that alter your world?"

Simply I become far greater from these moments because I have to adapt and overcome any barrier that I built in my mind. However, I have come to enjoy them more for the fact those moments have always brought a challenge with them. For some reason I love a challenge, due to the simple nature that the reward sitting at the end of the challenge is far greater than, where I am or what I am doing currently, not to go after whatever it is.

However, I don’t want to talk about me in this particular post.

I want to bring up a close friend of mine who came to me and asked me for help to get into shape.

This friend is by far one of the hardest working, loving fathers, dedicated family men I have ever seen. If I get to that stage in life this man has set a standard I hope I can live up to.

(This friend keep in mind has two children, who adore him, a wife who he adores, a regular 8-5 job, and all the responsibilities in between.)

Lets first start by saying I myself had just started looking into bodybuilding, not know really what I was doing, on my second internship during college (2-4 years ago). Now this friend, I had made during my first rotation at my job previously and we bonded over X-box 360.

During my second rotation, my roommate and I, who are in our early twenties, are working out everyday, and my friend who is almost twice as old as us ask to join in.

At first I was hesitant, I wasn’t ready to workout with someone other than my roommate. I wasn’t ready for someone else to see me struggle and barley lift 50 lb dumbbells for stiff leg dead lifts. After some convincing from my roommate, we told our friend to come along.

My roommate, friend, and I hit a tiny apartment gym for 2 months and then we all realized we want to GROW!

So we joined a local gym, every day we went and everyday my friend kept showing up, put in the work, went home played with the kids, did the house work, took his family on vacation, went out on dates, you name it he did it!

There however was one particular moment, that totally stands out to me, where we decided to go to a local trail and do a trial run.

No big deal really, but mind you its about mid-day 90 degrees if not hotter out and two twenty year olds are out there pushing a forty year old to run up a mountain.

He hated cardio but on we pushed, faster, farther, spurring each other to be better.

After about an hour and running up the steepest part of the mountain we decide to take a few minutes rest. This rest brought about a moment that I just now realized had more impact on why I’m so determined to make something more happen with health and fitness.

My friend looked up at me and my roommate and simply said “I can’t go on.”

This spurred me to challenge him at the moment. I was like look we came this far and we are running out of here and we will wait till you are ready.

I then simply asked the fundamental question:

Why are you here?

What made you choose to get into shape?

Why are you putting yourself through this?

What made you want to change?

My friend literally stood up squared his shoulders, looked at me in the eye and said “My Kids, I want to be able to play with my kids without getting tired.”

HOLY CRAP!

A freaking freight train hit me right then and there. I was so proud of him and then all three of us ran out of that park.

After that I had never seen someone so dedicated to working out every day. He adjusted his schedule so he started structuring his life to incorporate fitness into his lifestyle. That summer ended, I went back to college and over the year we kept in contact. He was still going to the gym, the 8-5, and being super dad.

The next summer I went back to my internship, I hadn’t pulled into town yet, and he was already hitting me up asking when our first workout was going to be.

The next day I went into work (I hadn’t seen him in over 6-8 months) and literally almost feel out of my chair.

My 40 year old friend had lost 40 lbs, had made massive muscle gains, and was staying at 15-17% bodyfat. That second summer was unreal, every day he would walk by my cube and point at me and say ready to go at 3:30? Or hey what is the workout today? Are we hitting arms again?

The real reward was at the end of summer when we had a Pizza night at his house. He had more energy than his kids, and his kids were loving all the fun they were having with their dad.

He became a machine and an inspiration because of the pure effort he put into eating healthier, incorporating fitness into his life, and just being a beast. From my conversations with him he is still going to the gym and is shooting for the 1000 lb club. ( A brief description of the 1000 lbs club is linked)

This brought about the following thoughts to mind:

At any moment we could come in contact with the fundamental moment or come to Jesus moment that shifts either your life or the life of another.

This is particularly true with anything in life, who knows what a passion or habit can do for you or the effects it has on another. In that moment with my friend I issued a challenge, a challenge he took and crushed.

I myself have been challenge by a family member, by each one of you, by my friends. These challenges have become a part of me and influence my everyday actions, thus forging the fundamental reason I keep pushing so hard to give back to all of you.

So I forward the challenge to you. If you want to lose 10 lbs, want to make more money, want to change your life.

Here it is: DO IT NOW, or are you going to stay at the same spot you are at!!!!

Don’t wait for tomorrow, now is the time to make the change that could influence the rest of your life. Its never to late, this is one of the fundamental and core reasons I decided to create this blog, document my journey now, and ultimately create the Iron Pulse.

I don't know who, when, how, or if my story or journey will ever impact someone. However, I have to try because any day, any moment, any person could see this and ultimately take the very step to change whatever they want to better themselves, the lives of people they care about, or even lives of a million other people.

-The Iron Pulse Beats Within You

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