I just finished another Learn 2 Lift Certification at the awesome CrossFit Whitby. I had a wonderful weekend teaching some incredible people about the Barbell. This trip was extra incredible because Rock and Drew were able to come with me. Now I am sitting up in bed, writing this blog, and looking at them sleep. This moment has reminded me of a very important life lesson that I sometimes forget. Here is the lesson: don’t forget to slow down once in a while to look at all the blessings in your life.
It seems simple, but a lot of us forget to stop and smell the roses. A lot of us are so driven that all we think about is the next goal or next big accomplishment. I am the worst one to do just this. I have so many goals that I want to accomplish that I lose track of all the beautiful things going on around me. My friends and family are constantly reminding me to chill out once in a while.
God has been so good to all of us. If we don’t stop once in a while to count our blessings, we are laughing in the face of our Creator. Some of you might say, “Yes Travis, but God has been extra good to you. You are a Coach for MuscleDriver USA. You have coached some of the best athletes in the United States.” If you said that, you would be right. The thing is that God does a lot more than this for all of us.
In America, we all have food and shelter for the most part. We have friends and family. We have opportunities that are endless in nature if we open our eyes. It’s these little things that I am super thankful for. Then I look at my son and wife, daydream about my amazing daughter, Bailey, and I am in awe at the blessed life that I live. I have done nothing to deserve such amazing things in my life. Yet here they are right beside me.
I am looking down right now at my son snuggled next to his mother. He has a look of complete peace, and there is a tear running down my cheek. See Drew and I weren’t sure if we would ever be able to have children. Two days before we got married, she was diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer. We got married and went on our honeymoon knowing that we had the battle of a lifetime facing us. For the next year, my beautiful wife battled cancer with Chemotherapy.
At night, I would stay awake looking down at her pale little face. I would pray to God for her healing. Drew is everything that I have ever wanted in a wife, and during that first year, I lived my life in a constant fear that God was going to take her from me. It was too soon! I was not strong enough! Please God save my wife, I would pray.
Needless to say, He did. When we decided to have children, we weren’t sure if it were a possibility. We decided to give it a shot and leave it up to God. We tried for over two years with no success. We thought about getting help from a fertility Doctor. Then one Monday, Drew asked me to follow her to the restroom in our gym. It was Monday morning, so I was pretty busy preparing for the week. However, I followed her anyways because let’s face it, I do whatever she wants. When I entered the restroom, I saw the test. I almost dropped to a knee. All I could do was cry and smile. God had answered our prayers.
This blog wasn’t meant for this story, but it just seemed to fit. I am thankful for so much. Stopping to look at these blessing, makes it easier to continue my quest to reach my other goals. If you spend your whole life trying to conquer the next goal, you will quickly realize that you are living a lonely and sad life. Stopping to see all the good that God is doing in your life reminds you of why you do what you do. I work hard because I want to take care of my family, help others, and glorify the God that has done so much in my life.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know of another person more driven than me, but I also don’t know of another person more thankful than me either. I get to travel the world helping others reach their goals, while playing with my family in my free time. I am living a fairytale. I thank God for that fairytale because it could easily have been a nightmare.
I challenge you all to look around and thank God for all the blessings in your life. Do you have food in the cupboards? Do you have a roof over your head? Do you have a job? Do you have family and/or friends? If so, you are a millionaire compared to a lot of people throughout the world.
Now take a moment, smell the roses, and now get back to work. You owe it to God to continue your mission. Take all the talents that He has given you, and make 100% use of them. Help others! Change the world! Don’t stop until you have completed the mission! Live the Code! Right Zach Even-Esh?