Editor's Corner: Accountability and renewal

01-06-2012

EDITOR'S CORNER: Accountability and renewal

By Amy Forbus

It began with a rude awakening in mid-November.

Shopping for clothes is one of my least favorite activities, so it works best if I take along a friend. In fact, I have a particular friend with a special gift for making the chore seem more like a pleasure.

So there we were, sharing potential wardrobe items over the wall dividing our fitting rooms, when we each discovered we needed pants a size larger than we had expected.

Ouch.

A few days later, I received a text message from her: “Drop and give me 20 crunches. I just did it and thought of you.”

So began a new wave of accountability that continues today: Each morning, the first one to complete her calisthenics sends a text to the other, reporting the numbers and varieties of exercises. The second person matches the activity and texts a response reporting her numbers. Even on weekends and holidays.

Now and then, one of us increases the count by five or 10 repetitions, or adds hand weights to provide a better workout. And again, the other one matches it.

To outsiders, it may not look like much—we certainly won’t be running a marathon any time soon—but we are holding each other accountable, and we can tell it’s making a positive difference.

In our culture, January has a reputation for fresh starts. New year’s resolutions abound, and fitness centers see a spike in new memberships.

We can use January as a time for a fresh start in our spiritual fitness, too. “A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition,” No. 607 in the United Methodist Hymnal, provides one such path for renewal. (Note: In older editions of the hymnal, there is a typo in the fifth line of the prayer. The corrected version appears below and in more recent editions.)

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

As United Methodists in Arkansas, we face a time of change and renewal. May we remember that through it all, we belong to God.

To reach me, send an email to aforbus@arumc.org.