Justin Anderson: Choosing the Best Battle Buddy in Life
Justin Anderson shares the story of why choosing a good battle buddy was important while doing “killer push ups” during basic training and how this relates to God and life.
Episode Discussion Points
Justin shares how during Army Basic Training he had to do “Killer Push Ups” and what that looked like.
At first he chose a friend (who was smaller than him) to spot him during Killer push ups, but why he quickly switched to find someone big and strong
How Justin was able to use this experience to realize it is so important to choose Jesus as our battle buddy in life because He will never let us down or let us fall flat on our face. He is strong enough to lift us when we are weak and worn out.
How Justin was able to use this battle buddy analogy of having Jesus help him during a time when he was sick, in work and at home.
Sometimes we don’t realize Jesus was there carrying us during a particular situation until after it is over. Then we need to remember to thank Him for His help and mercy.
How to yoke yourself to Jesus so you can rely on Him as a Battle Buddy through the basics of daily prayer, and scripture study and going to church weekly.
Justin Anderson in his army days
Justin’s Favorite Bible Verse
Isaiah 12:2, “Behold God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.”
#tamarakanderson #storiesofhopeinhardtimes #podcast #hope #God #hardtimes #battlebuddy #killerpushups #JesusChrist #BibleVerse #Tips #Lessons #army
Transcription
You can find the transcription of today's episode here:
Tamara Anderson 0:02
Have you ever felt like, life is so exhausting? Like, if it were a pushup, you would totally be giving up and falling flat on your face. If you've ever felt that way, you are not alone. And today I'm bringing on a special guest and he's going to talk to us about something called killer pushups and battle buddies. And what that has to do with carrying on when you're too weak to keep pushing, and keep going. Stay tuned.
Tamara Anderson 0:36
Welcome to Stories of Hope in Hard Times, the show that explores how people endure and even thrive in difficult times. All with God's help. I'm your host Tamara K. Anderson. Join me on a journey to find inspiring stories of hope and wisdom learned in life's hardest moments.
Tamara Anderson 1:01
Hello, and welcome to another episode of Tamara's takeaways. I'm your host Tamara K. Anderson, on the Stories of Hope in Hard Times podcast. And as I was preparing today's takeaway episode, I tried recording something and it just wasn't right. And so I pray about every episode that I release. And I felt like I should invite my husband on Justin Anderson to tell a story from his life that has not only impacted me, but I think will have a positive impact on you as well. So Justin, welcome on to the show.
Justin Anderson 1:33
It's really good to be here. I love you.
Tamara Anderson 1:35
Love you, too. So Justin, as a little bit of background, served for many years in the Army National Guard. And he had an a really interesting experience in basic training that I'd love for him to share with you today. So Justin, why don't you take us back to your earlier years?
Justin Anderson 1:55
Well, thanks. When, when I joined the National Guard, I was fortunate to be able to join while I was still in high school. So that was a very interesting start to my army career. Part of the starting was then to work right right away with your National Guard unit, which I did in preparing me for the training that was coming up. And so I don't know probably about six, seven months later is when I went to go do my basic training. And everybody in the military, no matter what branch has to do a basic training. And so I was sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, to do my basic training.
Justin Anderson 2:33
And there you're supposed to learn a variety of skills and abilities just to basically be a soldier--hence the phrase. When I went there, I was just finished high school. As matter of fact, I had graduated less than a week before I went to basic training. And so it was quite a quick experience for me. And I was young still. I was just 17. And it was a really interesting experience to learn about yourself both as your mental fortitude. But also, it was a great place to learn more about your spirituality.
Justin Anderson 3:05
So when I first started going to church in the army, it was just a great way to get away from people yelling at you. So it was very refreshing. And we also had three hours to get away from them, which was fantastic. And so a lot of people really took advantage of that. And but I noticed later on in basic training people were less and less going to church and just using that time for personal reasons. And I was really reflecting on what was happening to me, because sometimes you can have things happen to you that you don't notice at the moment, but you start to realize things are different.
Justin Anderson 3:42
So in my faith, I grew up believing in God and going to church regularly. And being actively involved in the in the activities and the work that happens in the church. And I really believed it strongly. I felt I had answers to my prayers that God was there, the things that I believed were true. And so it was really great to go into this experience having those feelings.
Justin Anderson 4:08
But I found a time when I really had to make choices as far as what I was going to be as an adult versus how I was just raised to act as a child through the great example of my parents and others. So what I found was an interesting analogy that happened.
Justin Anderson 4:26
Not only are you being challenged mentally, but you're very challenged physically and one of the things that they do is teach you how to do a push up. And so I think all of us believe we know how to do one, but they actually teach you a proper method and so forth to help do a correct push up. One of the things that they taught us were ways to build your strength was something we all know about and that's to take your muscle right up to the point of full exhaustion and then push it harder and and break those muscles down so they can build back up and become stronger. And one of the ways they did that was with a process called the killer pushup. And it is as awful as it sounds.
Justin Anderson 5:09
And so what would happen and what happened the first time with me, we did a killer push up is you had a battle buddy, that was you chose in your workouts and that person was to stand over you as you did a push up, literally over your body. And so as you did your push ups, they were there. And there was a towel on the ground underneath, you just rolled up and so forth. And as you got more and more exhausted, after you're done, you know, 20, 30, 40 push ups, you start to really rest and you're going down, and pretty soon you're getting to the point where you're starting to shake, and you can't really do much more. That's when they reach down and grab the towel or sometimes grab you in this case, the guy grabbed the towel, and would start to pull you up as you pushed. So you're still doing muscle work, but you're getting help along the way, and you're doing more than you could possibly do.
Justin Anderson 6:02
And the first guy that I picked the first day for killer push ups was a good friend of mine who was five foot six, 120 pounds dripping wet. And I was a bigger guy, and he couldn't pick me up very well. And so what ended up happening is, is he was getting a really strong workout to the point that, well, he dropped me. My arms aren't strong enough. And so I'm doing these faceplants into the ground. And so killer push ups meant a lot to me as it you know, started hurting me in lots of different ways. Well we got done and your arms are destroyed. But also I was a little scared after the experience.
Justin Anderson 6:43
And so I learned. The next time we were doing killer push ups, I ran over and grabbed a guy who was huge. He'd played football for some time at a college. And then he had come into the army and he was a massive, massive strong guy. Well we did the same experience, we did the push ups and my arms got totally exhausted to the point where I just really couldn't do anything else. And he grabbed me just grabbed me on my shoulders on my side and just started lifting me. And my arms were pushing at first. Pretty soon, they were just kind of like, a marionette. You know, they were just they're moving but nothing was happening. My hands just stood still. And he just sat and lifted me for a whole bunch of time. So I did push ups forever. And he never dropped me Never crushed my face. But I got in a tremendous workout. And but I was safe in the process too.
Justin Anderson 7:38
And when I thought about that experience, later on, I learned a lot of important things. And that's picking your battle buddy buddy wisely. So you can get the experience of being challenged and pushed. And at the same point, you're not going to completely fall off from smash your face. And so that was the physical learning that I had.
Justin Anderson 8:01
But when I when I thought about my experiences in basic training, I'd use that time to to also become much closer to God and Jesus Christ. The things that mattered more to me, were like the hymns made a lot more personal feeling. I remember listening to this beautiful hymn and church. And I didn't have a hymn book to take with me. And so I sat and wrote it down in my little army manual, the words, so I could read them throughout the week, to bring me strength. And hymn talked a lot about Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us.
Justin Anderson 8:42
And my prayers became more heartfelt around, being able to be both physically and mentally strong through this experience, but also spiritually strong, and helping other people and myself.
Justin Anderson 8:55
And I started to bridge that analogy of my killer push up to my spiritual experiences that happened there in basic training. I had gone in and I had done what I could do, and I was strong, spiritually. I'd been given a great foundation, but I needed to grow and stretch my spiritual muscles. And the way to stretch them is to take them to exhaustion, and they did. But instead of picking a weak battle buddy, that could be a great minister or a great philosopher or something like that. They're still human, they still are going to not support me the way they did. I noticed I actually, in my mind and heart chose Jesus Christ to help me. I would think about Him, I would ask for his help. I'd ask for his support.
Justin Anderson 9:48
And all of a sudden my relationship to Him deepened. And they got a lot stronger and in the process, he helped me get through the experience in a way that I didn't just survive, but I was able to thrive and grow as well spiritually. So that's my killer push up analogy that came through as I did my experiences in the military.
Tamara Anderson 10:12
Yeah, I've always loved that story. And I think it's especially poignant and pertinent to everybody to everybody out there, because we're all going to hit points in our life when, when whatever we're doing, we don't, we're not strong enough to keep going on our own merits. And we at that point, need to choose Christ as our battle buddy, somebody big and strong, who never is going to drop us on our face, but he's going to help us keep going and build out those spiritual resilience muscles that we each need. In whatever circumstance we're in,
Justin Anderson 10:48
It doesn't take weakness to make that choice, it actually takes wisdom to make it as soon as possible that you will lean on God for all your help. So I encourage everybody to please, you know, if you feel like you're, you're hurting, you're doing things alone, you don't need to just start choosing now for that help.
Tamara Anderson 11:09
How have you been able to apply the principles of using Christ as your battle buddy in your life, since you learned this lesson?
Justin Anderson 11:18
Well, I'm not gonna say I'm perfect with it. But it at least helped me start to remember and understand foundations of what I needed to do in my life. So I remember, when I did a volunteer mission for my church, and I got really sick. Being able to lean on the Lord, heavily to help things get done, that I just couldn't do was really amazing experience to see a lot of miracles and blessings happen, way out of my control. And just to lean on the Lord, in that kind of a place.
Justin Anderson 11:57
I think, I think also, I've tried to do it within my work. And it's, I think it's kind of a secret weapon in the work world where, when I try to do something that's big or different, I try to seek inspiration. And then also, you know, if that inspiration comes, then I try to put the trust in that-- that, that that's what the Lord can and will do if I continue to do what I can do. So that's another example.
Justin Anderson 12:30
And then, with my family as well. I try to find Christ in the things that they do, or the things that they say. I've got a great family who has a lot of faith and does a lot of great things. And so sometimes it's not leading out with that as much as using that lens to be able to see and learn what I'm experiencing is the power of Christ in our lives already happening. So I don't know if any of those make sense.
Tamara Anderson 13:00
No, they do. That's fantastic. And it's interesting how you've been able to apply it in different situations not only at home, but at work. And when you were serving a volunteer mission. So it's it's really cool that you've been able to apply it and I've been able to apply the same principle. Just I never thought of it as having Christ as my battle buddy before, but I really like that phrase. And I like the mental image of the pushups, and Him standing over you and just really helping you through that. Because that's what life is really like, especially in the hard times. I mean, I think He leaves us to do a lot of the lifting when we can on our own, but to know that he's there to catch us when we're weak or feel like we're gonna fall flat on our face. It's it's a comforting thought.
Justin Anderson 13:51
I think that sometimes it happens to people and they might not see it at the moment too. When we did those pushups and I had that super powerful battle buddy, I wasn't doing many pushups for a while. It was just an emotion. It looked like I was doing something from a distance but we knew the truth. And how many times does that happen in our lives right where something incredible happens and people are like, Wow, good job you did such a great thing. And in reality is, It wasn't me. You know and that's a great time to see and thank God for his support. So I think I don't think it always is a proactive I think more than often we might be pretty reactive and realizing wow, look how much You did for me when I just couldn't do it.
Tamara Anderson 14:39
Hmm yeah, no, that's that's that's a really good point because sometimes we'll look back on points in our life--and I've had people ask me, how did you survive those younger years with Jacob and Nathan and when they were so hard. And and I honestly look back and it's because Christ was doing a lot of the heavy lifting at that point because I was completely worn out. So, and you were right there with me. There were some really long nights.
Justin Anderson 15:08
Lots of prayers happened when the kids were crying at night, that's for sure. Yeah.
Tamara Anderson 15:13
So Justin, before we close here, what are some of the ways you feel you yoked yourself to the Savior? So that when these hard times happen, He's already a part of your relationship? What What things do you do on a daily basis? Or how do you make sure that that yoke with Christ stays on?
Justin Anderson 15:38
Yeah, I think it goes back to the push up days. In the military, we didn't have extensive weight rooms, and anything that was, you know, pools or things like that to, to build our stamina or strength. But it was a lot of push ups and sit ups and running, right? But really, those three things, and that's what they test you on in the end. But when I got through with that basic training, and I went back to school, and got on a weight set, I was much stronger, I could lift a lot more weights.
Justin Anderson 16:11
And so I think, coming to God and Jesus Christ are just like that. They are the basics. And those basics that have helped me and helped me in those times were sincere prayer. And that might mean that you're extremely honest and open with God with God, that things are going well, I'm not doing good. I don't think you're helping me. You know, anything, you have to do have a real honest conversation. Or where can I see how you're helping me? And ask for things like that. But that authentic relationship can happen in daily prayer.
Justin Anderson 16:44
And then, and then daily scripture study, there's, we have such a robust amount of information available to us through the Scriptures. And I was just reading from the book of Acts today. And the courage of Paul is something that we all can learn from. And it's just a small lesson for today. And I'll get another devotional tomorrow, something else out of that. And, and how they leaned upon God and Christ through all these types of things.
Justin Anderson 17:14
So those two things and then going to church. And don't just go there because you have to be there or should be there. But go there to see how you can help someone else. And you might be surprised if you go to church, and you smile and talk to someone, what a big difference that might be in their life. And you might not even know. So you can really do a lot of great things with those three basics.
Tamara Anderson 17:39
Awesome, I love that. And those are, those are little bite size things we can tackle every day. And I think it's gonna look different for each of us at different points in our life. I know, as a young mother, it was really hard for me to get a super in depth scripture study in, like I do now with my kids grown. And so back then it was just teeny, tiny bite size prayers and teeny, tiny bite sized bits of Scripture. And now, since I'm at a different point that looks totally differently. I'm able to dive into things and spend, I don't know, half an hour reading and studying. And so time and season. So if you're at a point whenever verse is enough, then realize that is your all. And God recognizes your all and will bless you. You know, so do what you can. And trust that time will come when when perhaps you can do more. So
Justin Anderson 18:35
It might be it might be the motions at times, you might literally be looking like you're doing a push up. Just keep doing it, you'll become very powerful. You will.
Tamara Anderson 18:44
Now you have a Bible verse that that kind of ties into that. Would you mind sharing that before we close?
Justin Anderson 18:51
The scripture that I I really enjoy. Actually, later in my military experience. I was back at school and then we were activated for Desert Storm and Shield back in those days and in the early 90s. And I had a friend that gave me a really sweet card that had a few scriptures in it. And as I read that one of the Scriptures that she gave me, it was transforming me To me it really helped me again, refocus my faith. And so it's from the book of Isaiah, chapter 12, verse two, I'm gonna read it to so I get it, right. But it says, "Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. And he has also become my salvation." And that that was the scripture that helped me focus my faith and efforts where they should be on God and Jesus Christ and, and I'm grateful for that.
Tamara Anderson 19:56
Awesome. Thanks so much for being willing to share that story. And for those of you who are struggling, I invite you to pick Christ as your battle buddy today. And cling to him forever for the rest of your life. Because he will indeed bear you up. And you can trust in Him as Justin just shared and not be afraid.
Tamara Anderson 20:19
And if any of you have other questions that you have that you'd love to have me answer on the Stories of Hope in Hard Time podcast. I invite you to reach out to me. You can find my contact information on my website, TamaraKAnderson.com, and I'll be happy to answer or dive into some of your questions as well. I love getting the feedback that I've been getting from you and I encourage you to keep reaching out. Alright guys, have a wonderful day and hope on.
Tamara Anderson 20:47
Hey, thanks so much for listening to today's show. If you like what you heard, subscribe so you can get your weekly dose of powerful stories of hope. I know there are many of you out there who are going through a hard time, and I hope you found useful things that you can apply to your own life in today's podcast. If you'd like to access the show notes of today's show, please visit my website storiesofhopepodcast.com. There you will find a summary of today's show, the transcript and one of my favorite takeaways. You know, if someone kept coming to mind during today's episode, perhaps that means that you should share this episode with him. Maybe there was a story shared or quote or scripture verse that they really really need to hear. So go ahead and share this podcast. May God bless you, especially if you're struggling with hope to carry on in the strength to keep going when things get tough. Remember to walk with Christ and He will help you bear the burden. And above all else, remember God loves you.