Ok, call me a softy or a whimp or a woos but every since Rocky 1 I just can’t hear the anthem without getting emotional.  You know, the one that starts out with the eery early morning bells and Rocky, trying to muster up the strength to start his work out, starts a slow jog?  In the end he’s got this whole huge following of kids running behind him and takes his glorious two-steps-at-a-time lunge up the long flight of stairs with the final, triumphant, jumping up and down with his arms raised above his head! (I write with tears once again welling up in my eyes!  Jeeesh!)  Here’s the video if you’ve forgotten.

So how did all this come up today? Well, I’ve been trying to lose some weight so I can get off the “old people” meds. I just turned 60 and I’m way over weight. I’ve been working out (mostly walking and calisthenics) for a few months but just can’t seem to break 200#s. Plus, with pressures from my work and family stuff, this morning I was just feeling defeated. I didn’t want to do anything but go back to bed. But I pushed through to do my work out.

A couple weeks ago, when I turned 60, my son, Preston, gave me a new iPhone. Since then I keep forgetting that it’s like an ipod and that it has all my music on it including the Rocky work out mix. This morning I remembered. so I grab the phone, put the headphones on and hit play.

As I began to walk to the errie sounds of the bells from Rocky, the memories of his struggle flooded back. By the time it got to the fan fare I had tears streaming down my face. My thoughts were racing, “I’m not a loser!”, “I’m more than a conqueror!”, “No weapon formed against me shall prevail.”, “My name means tall spearman!”, “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me!”, “Forget what lies behind and press on…!”  (there go the tears again… dang!)

As the words echoed in my thoughts, my pace quicken. Pretty soon I was actually jogging to the rhythm; I felt stronger somehow. I had my dog with me so she was helping “drag” me along. But I felt inspired, I felt like a conquerer.

One of the songs in my Rocky mix is “Burning Heart”. Here’s just a few of the lyrics:

In the burning Heart
Just about to burst
There’s a quest for answers
An unquenchable thirst
In the darkest night
Rising like a spire
In the burning heart
The unmistakable fire

In the burning heart

In the warrious code
There’s no surrender
Though his body says stop
His spirit cries – never!
Deep in our soul
A quiet ember
Know it’s you against you
It’s the paradox
That drives us on
It’s a battle of wills
In the heat of attack
It’s the passion that kills
The victory is yours alone

The warriors code! In many ways I am a fighter and I do persevere through difficulty. But there are still those times when I feel helpless, tired, no passion and no vision. Maybe you can relate? But Rocky and the music lifted me up. It encouraged me to push through the pain, the difficulty, the frustration, the defeats, the delays and all the other energy sappers to say, “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me.

So set your mind to NOT be discouraged today. You may be facing tough things; foreclosure, tax liens, lost job, lost retirement, no work, broken relationships, family tensions, the difficult task of starting or running a business, and more but rise up as a warrior or “warrioress” and you will prevail; YOU can be more than a conqueror!

“BUT WHAT IF I FAIL?”, you ask?

Adrian asked Rocky much the same question when he faced Drago, “What if you die?”. Rocky’s reply, “If I die…. then I die! But I’ll die like a man!” (there come the tears again!! Jeesh! Maybe I am a woos! LOL)

Be encouraged my friends. If I can rebrand myself, reshape myself and start a new at age 60, so can you!!

Many blessings,

 

 

Plugins: If you can relate to this at all, please comment below; I’d love to hear your stories.