scabbed knees

waitin.on.mama.to.finish, originally uploaded by impactmatt.

I feel for this woman... big time.

Have you ever run up and down stairs to improve your health or physical abilities? I did on Monday night after a kickboxing class. My legs were exhausted by kicking higher than my groind will allow me and from receiving painful shots to my knees and thighs. However, this was not enough punishment and I decided to run (run being used very loosely because after the first ten flights I slowly jogged and then walked) 20 flights of stairs. Going up and down that is a total of 1064 stairs. My legs are cramping up just thinking about it. So, why did I do this? To stay in shape, to get into better shape, not to lose face in front of the other guys running them, and probably because there is a piece of me that is sick and twisted.

So I feel for this woman... why? Well its obvious if you look at her face. She is going up a whole host of stairs...on her knees... voluntarily. Now why is she doing this? For her health? To stay in shape? To get into better shape Not to lose face? That maybe she is sick? Kind of all of the above. This woman is going up a few hundred stairs on her knees, saying a prayer at each stair, as penance for something that she has done and to show her devotion to God. So in a sense she is trying to build up her spiritual health and flex those devoted muscles.

Whether or not you agree with her choice, it takes a lot of guts to do it. I get winded walking up those stairs when I visit that church... Though I feel that her efforts are not necessarily going in the right direction, it impresses me. A lot...

What kind of pain, discomfort, embarassment, and devotion am I willing to go through for my faith and my God. Its quite humbling...