Better Together

A few weeks ago at church, our pastor shared a message titled ‘Together.’ It was the conclusion of our series going over the vision of the church. One verse, in particular, stuck out to me and I’d like to share it with you all:

Acts 2:42-45 – They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favors of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

So often, I struggle to find the appropriate words to articulate why I love CrossFit For Glory so much. After this message, I don’t know that I found the actual words, but I thought this was a pretty good illustration of what makes what we do every day so special – namely that we do it together.
In the verse above, you see a deliberate illustration that like-minded people (those “devoted to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship”) spend time, and do great things, together.
You can do CrossFit anywhere. That’s actually part of the reason it got so big so fast (did you know there are more CrossFit gyms than Starbucks locations??). It’s also a part of its lasting appeal – it removes your excuses. You can always do CrossFit where you are. It’s really just up to your creativity, desire, and priorities.
But to be perfectly honest, doing it alone is just nowhere near as fun and rewarding as doing it with other like-minded people. We are better together.  
Did you know that we actually get the word ‘together‘ from the Greek word ‘autos’ – meaning automatic? When we are together with others that have similar goals, magical things happen. All of a sudden, pushing just a bit harder doesn’t seem as tough – it’s automatic. Making better food choices isn’t quite as difficult. Even showing up becomes easier when you know friends with smiling faces are waiting for you!
As of this writing, we’re all in with the Open. Events like this provide the perfect backdrop for a message like this one. Show up on a Saturday and its hard not to be overwhelmed with positive emotions that can bring you to tears. It doesn’t matter what class you usually attend; from #sealteam530 to the 9am-ers to the crazy evening crews, we all show up for one another. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never met some of the people in your heat or have no clue who is judging you. We are all there, together, for the same reason. I’m participating in my 9th Open, and I still tear up during every single main event Saturday. No, it’s not the chalk, haha! Seeing the CFG community come together and cheer each other on for these 5 special weeks is something I’ll cherish forever.
Its been said that if you want to go fast, you should go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.
I submit to you that we need to spend more time together – in the gym, in our homes, in our workspaces, in our lives.

We’re better together.