In this episode Antoine begins by reminiscing about a while back when he really felt good and felt like his career was moving in a positive direction. For the rest of the entirety of the video he is working out with a former pro who is just bent on getting through an inside leg session.
I think what is important to point out is one, the reflection, and two the getting back to basics. When it comes to the spiritual life, prayer life, Lent, I think we tend to make it more complicated than it really is. Prayer, simply put, is communication with God, conversation. What does conversation consist of, speaking and listening. Some people get thrown off because there are those have the gift of eloquent spontaneous prayer. But really, all God wants is us to be present, available, and open. Just talk to him.
In the video you see Antoine team up with these old guys who have been training for ever. They've been through the gamut and still have the passion for training. They don't do anything complicated or fancy. The warm up, feel it out, and put their legs through and intense session. Rep after rep, set after set, they train hard.
The importance of friendship, especially male friendship and mentorship, is understated in today's world. But, it is so important to partner with people who have traveled the path you are on and to learn from the wisdom they've gathered along the way. Again through hindsight, I've seen the importance of the people, men and women, who have come into my life and how much I've learned from them. I've tried to become intentional about staying in touch and calling on them in times of need and seeking advice.
"Iron is sharpened by iron, one person sharpens another" - Proverbs 27:17
Antoine talks about how for him the main struggle is going to be consistency, the day in day out struggle to continue to progress and stay on the narrow path. The same goes for our spiritual progression. We need to do concrete things daily to advance towards holiness. Not that anything we do makes us holy, but the participation in God's life, the acceptance and participation with his graces, will allow us to continue on that narrow path through the eye of the needle.
I know for me, consistency has been very hard. I've come a long way and have learned a lot about being intone with the Spirit and seeing, noticing, utilizing it's fruits. But, I strive daily to try and have a consistency that I truly desire. I want to get to bed earlier, I want to wake up earlier, I want to pray in the morning, train in the morning, pray with my wife daily, etc, etc, but it has been a struggle. And I think struggle is important. The most spiritual advice to gather from this episode is near the end when they are discussing the training session. We have to assess where we are (which I think will be a continual mantra throughout the series) and then start from there. We cannot become stagnant, struggle is important, struggle offers opportunity for growth.
"When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things." - 1 Corinthians 13: 11
This lent, I have not succeeded once in my official fast/task, but I have been progressing towards it. It is important to not get bogged down and negative on yourself if you are failing. The spiritual struggle is real and worth the fight. Continue on. We will be attacked from within and without but the goal is an enhance relationship with Christ. Fight the good fight.
At the end Antoine reflects on how good it felt for him to be on stage. Sometimes it is as simple as remembering what got us to where we are at now, and return to that. When did you first fall in love with Jesus. Where were you? What were you doing? We can't go backwards but we can get to the essentials, the basics.
Video: Play the Tape to the End: The Feeling I Had On Stage
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