Gym Trail

Last week I went on a "prayer walk" where you walk and pray. There were 6 of us, and all but one of us are beginning to be oldish. We all sat on the metal bench of the youth shelter to pray for youth and a young person walked by and took our photo - it may go viral. If you ever see youth standing on one of those youth shelters please don't feel annoyed that they are abusing a very expensive facility, if you ever tried sitting on those metal bars in the winter, you'd stand.
Our walk then took us past a gym trail, which is an outdoor set of gym equipment that people can use on their way to and from work. I attended a meeting at the parish council and voted for it to be installed (in the face of considerable opposition) but I had never actually used it. It was very entertaining. I liked the two big wheels that you turn in opposite directions and I liked the round plates you stood on and twisted from your waist (like you did last summer.) My favourite piece however, was the one you sat on, grabbed two handles either side of your shoulders and pulled them together in front of you. The amazing thing about this device is that the counterbalance is your own body weight. I was amazed to discover that I could lift myself up. As I've told you before, I have tried to stand in a bucket and lift myself up without success, so this was an achievement worthy of note (especially as I know my body weight.)
In Psalm 30, David is rejoicing that he hasn't had to lift himself up because God has done it, "God you lifted me out of the mess, I yelled for help and you put me together."
There isn't always a gym trail nearby with which you can lift yourself up but I have found that whenever I need lifting up because I feel I have failed, or I feel a bit miserable. or I feel somewhat downtrodden, I can call to God and he lifts me up. God knows my body weight and the weight on my mind, and my occasional heavy heart and he is more than strong enough to lift me up. If you need lifting up, you might like to join me and David the psalmist and find help by calling to God.