I spent last week at the annual Celebrate Recovery Summit at Saddleback Church in Orange County. It was our first time back with an in-person Summit at Saddleback since before the pandemic. Everyone was very excited to be there and it definitely had a reunion atmosphere.

Since my wife is now a State Rep for CR Inside, Bev and I went as volunteers. That is to say, we were amongst those who were serving in order for the conference to happen. We didn’t actually get to go into the big group sessions. Most of the time that wouldn’t sound great, but we both have servant hearts, so we were thrilled to help out.

We both chose to serve in the Resource Tent. That’s where all of the people can go to shop for supplies and books to get their CR group started or to improve what they are already doing. For me it’s the best place because you pretty much get to see everyone at Summit over and over, and by now you should know how much I love people!

My specific job was to stand at the front of the purchasing queue and let people know when it was their turn to step up to a register and buy their stuff. The line was in a constant state of flux. During the main sessions it would dwindle down to one or two people, but during the breaks it could grow to well over 100. We set up the zig-zag Disney thing with stanchions. We had music going. We had your MoM at the front telling jokes and keeping things interesting. “What’s red and smells exactly like blue paint? That would be red paint!”

Since I was standing in one place I decided to start marching in place to “get my steps in”. At first people asked me what my goal was, and I didn’t really know. I am so sedentary on most days that I have no idea what good or bad looks like. The first day I got just over 30,000 between 2 and 6pm. People commented on my activity. I got a lot of encouragement, but the overriding sentiment was “Let’s see how you look by Friday.” Challenge accepted! I did another 30+ on Wednesday. Thursday I logged a fuzz over 40k. So when Friday came, my feet, hips, and back were killing me. That much stomping on a concrete floor isn’t comfortable. I had plans to coast through the final day on Friday, but once the music started and people began to shuffle through the building and my line, my feet took over. By the end of the day I was over 30k again.

It’s so easy to start a bad habit. Things happen. But sometimes we can do something good for ourselves too. I’ve been sitting around for years, but last week I decided it was time to…

–Rise (or Step) Up!!