Nikki's story
It was December of 2018; Christmas was right around the corner. My life was busy to say the least... I was homeschooling three kids and caring for my father who had recently lost his wife to cancer and had begun suffering from early signs of dementia. I was used to my phone ringing half a dozen times a day, always him calling to ask me to come help him with his television or his email. This day was different. My phone did not ring, and the heavy darkness that settled in my heart told me something was off. I called my dad, no response. My heart was anxious, and I feared the worst. I drove to his apartment to check on him where I was met by a police officer. He informed me that my dad had become lost while driving and was killed in a single car accident. My world was thrown into chaos. I stayed in a stunned, anxious, depressed, and lonely place for months. I stopped going to my Body & Soul® class and tried to avoid as many outings as I could. I had become stuck in the shadow of sadness. It was only after two good friends of mine from class invited me to lunch and encouraged me to begin exercising again that I began to see the light of hope at the end of the tunnel. Moving my body again, working my muscles, and worshipping the Lord in class made a world of difference for me – both mentally and physically. I needed the prayer and the encouragement I received from my classmates more than I even knew at the time. God faithfully and lovingly brought me out of that dark time and used the ministry of Body & Soul® to help accomplish His good work.
God has continued to pour out his faithfulness into my life as he has guided me to become an Instructor for Body & Soul®, and most recently to join the staff as Marketing Coordinator. The Lord reminded me just the other day of how Body & Soul® impacted my life story and prompted me to share it with you. Has the Lord used Body & Soul® to impact your life in a powerful way as well?
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Nikki Reutlinger is a lover of Jesus, mother of 3, wife, Marketing Coordinator and Substitute Instructor for Body & Soul®. She lives in Edmond, OK, where she is involved in her church and chairs the board for a local non-profit ministry for teenage girls.
Body and Soul® Fitness is an international Christian fitness organization that trains and equips instructors to lead a variety of group fitness programs including choreographed aerobics-style Cardio Strength & Flexibility™, cardio dance style Dance Blast™, free-weights-focused Power Strength™, boot camp style FIT360™ and Longevity FIT360™, and GOLD™ - lower impact programming for participants that are pregnant, have weight challenges, injuries, or other medical conditions. These exercise classes meet in church gyms, community centers, gymnasiums, parking lots, schools, etc. across the United States, Europe, and Africa. In-person and virtual fitness classes are available.
Key words: Christian fitness, women's exercise classes, group fitness, dance aerobics classes, Christian group fitness, Christian fitness app, FitTV, Body & Soul, Body and Soul, fitness instuctor training, low impact exercise
