Pondering in Your Heart

Imagine that I gave you a smooth, rounded stone, the size that fits perfectly in your hand. As you curl your fingers around it and feel its cold smoothness, you note that it’s heavy. You unhurriedly rock your forearm up and down, quietly and carefully trying to gauge its weight. You would be pondering the weight of the stone. Pondering is what Mary did after the shepherds departed. “But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart." (Luke 2:19) The shepherds, after hearing the angels’ starling announcement of Jesus’ birth, had hurried to Bethlehem to find the Christ child and shared with Mary and Joseph their experience. Everyone else “wondered” (implying astonishment and curiosity) about the news (Luke 2:18), but Mary treasured the news and pondered it in her heart.

We do not think of the heart as the location where thought and reason occur. But to the Hebrews, the heart was the source of all emotions and desires as well as the center of thought and reason. Mary was not making a casual, “off the top of her head” assessment of the events, but stored the news deep down in her heart. She could return to it for further reflection, compare it to the earlier message from the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:30-33) and treasure all that she knew about Jesus.(See also Luke 2:51.)

The Bible is loaded with information about Jesus that you and I can read, treasure and ponder in our hearts. The Old Testament contains prophecy about Jesus (starting at Genesis 3:15), and the New Testament has: descriptions of Jesus’ miracles and revolutionary teaching (Take a look at Matthew 6.), His promises you can count on (John 14-16, for example) and accounts of His death on the cross and miraculous resurrection (Mark 14-16) and the subsequent world-wide impact (described in the book of Acts.)

Start by reading the Bible in small doses, little, but weighty portions you can ”hold” in your heart. Treasure these nuggets of eternal life in your heart and return to them often. Jesus said, “the words I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” (John 6:63)

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. Mark 12:30

And speaking of the heart….

Your heart is a muscle with the very important job of pumping blood to every part of your body. Cardiovascular health has to do with how efficiently your heart can move oxygen-rich blood to your muscles when they are working. Continuous, rhythmic motion of your large muscles for a sustained time period (aerobic activity) elevates your heart rate and benefits your heart, lungs and circulatory system. Examples are jogging, brisk walking, running, swimming, bicycling, cross country skiing, land or water aerobics, rowing and stair climbing, to name a few. Strenuous yard work and household chores may also do the job. The idea is to raise your heart rate for a continuous time period.

How high does your heart rate have to be? There are a few formulas that can be used to calculate your “target” heart rate and some people like to use a monitor to make sure they work in this target range. But you can gauge whether you are in your target range by how hard you feel you are exerting yourself. On a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being no activity at all and 10 being extremely hard, you want to work at an effort level of 4 to 6. This would feel moderately hard to hard. You would be breathing, but not so quickly that you were unable to carry on a conversation. (If you are breathless, cut back a little.) If you are walking, pretend you are in a hurry, moving at a 15 to 20 minute-per-mile pace. (Remember I said “continuous” motion, so if you are walking at the mall, no window shopping!) Outdoors, rake leaves at a brisk pace. On a bicycle, if you are cycling at a leisurely pace that feels easy, go a little faster so you feel you are exerting yourself. Work at a rate that you can sustain for several minutes.

How long must you stay in motion? The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Guidelines state that you should aim for 30 to 60 minutes of moderate cardiovascular exercise five times per week, or vigorous exercise for 20 to 60 minutes three times per week. (They say it is OK to break these up into shorter sessions of ten minutes.) The National Weight Control Board found that people who lost a substantial amount of weight and kept it off were doing an average of 60 minutes per day of moderate physical activity. Of course, if you are just starting, you might go for five to ten minutes and build up from there. Always begin with a 5 to 10 minute warm-up so your heart rate increases gradually and a 5 to 10 minute cool down to allow it to ramp down to normal. (This is in addition to the above time periods.) The key is to listen to your body and stop if you have any pain. Start any new fitness program slowly and always get prior approval from your healthcare provider, especially if you have a family history of heart disease, have any symptoms of heart disease, smoke, are pregnant, have had recent surgery or have orthopedic concerns.

To help you stay consistent with your exercise, choose an activity you enjoy. If you are very busy with a stressful job or are around people most of the day, go with a solitary, simple form of exercise that doesn’t require a lot of concentration. Walking, jogging, swimming or cycling would be good options because they allow you to turn inward to reflect or pray. Walking or doing water aerobics with a friend serves the dual purpose of exercise and fellowship time. If you are competitive and enjoy a challenge, consider a team sport or group exercise class. Simpler activities such as walking and cycling are low-stress, easier to master and help build your self-confidence. Which type of exercise suits your needs and schedule?

Other aspects of exercise, such as strength training, flexibility and balance will be covered in future posts. For now, go outdoors to enjoy the autumn weather and start moving. Your heart and circulatory system will be stronger, you will feel and sleep better and your body will be healthier. This is fitness from the inside out!