A 30 Days of Veritas Tale
By Grant Boatwright, ED Veritas Life Adventures
One thing I have always told the Seekers in the program is, “I will never ask you to do something I am not willing to do myself.” The same goes for my buddy David when he started this #30daysofveritas initiative. So in conjunction with his lifestyle transformation I am challenging myself right alongside him to push myself further than I have before, trying to outdo one another in honor, and keeping each other accountable in what to American’s seems an eternity of time: 30 days straight of the Veritas Lifestyle, no matter the circumstances. Like David pointed out, this would not be easy; no simple pill or instant gratification will see this accomplished, so the only thing to do to make it to day 30 is begin with…
Every step, intentional
My #30daysofveritas fell just before a long 2-week road trip my wife and I had planned for two years: journeying across southern US states from Texas, up the southeast coast, cutting across the Smokey Mountains, visiting her graduate school and family in the northern heartland of Indiana and Illinois, and finally circling back to Texas where we began. How in the world was I going to keep the Veritas lifestyle going on the road, driving for multiple hours a day, no home gym to work out in, and having to miss our church home group multiple weeks? Unable to feed my body what it needs, work it out, or feed my soul in the usual, easy, and routine ways I had formed around my house, I was going to have to get inventive.
Every step, intentional
So I packed an extra bag of small workout gear: bands, push-up stands, my new suspension TRX toy, and my body weight (plenty of resistance there) for my workouts. We got easy snacks full of nutrition and light on calories for the long car rides: dried seaweed (like potato chips but better), kind bars (for that sweet tooth), kombucha (for digestion), and superfood bars (for extra nutrition). And of course to feed our souls we got a inspirational yet hard audio book (Unbroken) to realign our perspective and see how a man in TRULY overwhelming circumstances found and kept his faith, soul, and will alive!
Every step, intentional
The first part of the trip went swimmingly. Woke up at 4 am to work out with Jashley and start the road trip off right. Didn’t buy any extra snacks at gas stations (really wanted those powdered donuts). Then the storm broke… literally. The setting was our 7-mile hike to LeConte lodge in the Smokey Mountains National Park, Tennessee; this is where we really had to remember
Every step, intentional
Just like the 30 days of Veritas, we had an end goal when we started the trail: the lodge. At the end of the 7-mile trek, the lodge promised both a comfortable bed and equally comforting dinner. Along the steady incline, lined with beautiful ferns, towering pines and oaks, and even boasting a rainbow waterfall; the thunder rolled in, and on came the pouring rain.
Every step intentional
Although we knew how long the trail was, and were fairly sure we were on the right one, the trail did not have any progress markers. To further compound our anxiety, we got a late start, 3:45 pm, and needed to be at the lodge no later than 6:45 pm or we would miss the very much-desired meal.
Every step, intentional
So with the thunder rolling around us, the rain blinding us, the slate rocks on the trial growing increasingly slippery, no indicators of how far we had hiked or how much we had left, Jashley accurately described our predicament as, “not being able to see the forest from the trees.” We had an end goal, but no way of knowing when, or if, we would reach it. Every bend in the trail looked the same, every tree looked like the next, and next, and next. Tired, moving slow, the incline of the trail only increasing, our wills started fraying. But this is why I train and why Jashley and I live the Veritas lifestyle. So, with my mind and will steeled, I encouraged Jashley (and myself really) to take it one step at a time, and make
Every step, intentional
At 6:30 we finally reached the trail fork I knew was near the end, just .6 miles of steep slippery slate rock trail to go (what the lodge staff called the hellish .6); and 15 minutes to do it. At 6:45 exactly we stumbled into the dinning hall, soaking, physically spent, and mentally haggard; but there, still waiting for us, was an abundant, steaming, mouth-watering meal. After dinner, the clouds broke, a beautiful sunset was arrayed before a breathtaking view of the valley below and we found a roof and soft bed inviting us in.
Every step, intentional
I want to tell you it was smooth sailing from there, but as I have always found in life, obstacles keep coming, trying to bring you down. However, I would not let my 30 days of Veritas falter.
When one of our friends could no longer host us, and as I was stuck in a 4X4 hotel “fitness center” I still got a good Insanity Max workout in. When, at a local park near my cousin’s house I tried to get some sprints in (via David’s inspiration) I misstepped, rolled my foot to the outside, and heard an old injury return in the form of two quick pops. My high intensity plyometric and run training on the trip was finished. For every step forward, it seemed like I was doomed to take four back; but I was determined to push forward, nurse my foot back to health, and make
Every step, intentional
I am now reduced to yoga and Tabata style controlled movement interval workouts. The foot is healing. Despite the temptation to eat out since we are technically on “vacation,” I kept up with my Shakeology meals and healthy eating. Then we get a phone text. My mother-in-law took a bad fall at work and fractured her femur; the news is still coming in. Needless to say it was a kick in the gut, especially after such a great day of work and presentations the day before at Jashley’s grad school. However, with consistent prayer and pulling together I know this will work out in the end, as long as we continue with
Every step, intentional
And so, my 30 days of Veritas tale continues. It has its valleys, and its peaks; and through it all I know I have Him with me. He tells me to take courage, that He will never forsake me (Joshua 1:5-7), that He has plans for me; which He promises to see to fruition, to benefit me, and give me a life of abundance (John 10:10, and Jeremiah 29:11). I am confident now that the good work I am doing during my 30 days of Veritas and beyond will not return void; that whether in my body, my mind, or my soul, through Christ I will see His work in me accomplished (Philippians 1:6).
In summation, I am seeing my body tested, but growing stronger. I am seeing that you CAN eat healthy on the road. And in all this I continue to see my faith and spirit awakened more each day. All I need do is continue with what I started, one foot in front of the other, keeping…
Every step, Intentional
Now I ask you, what will your #30daysofveritas tale be?