Houghton Academy

Krista Reitnour

Physical Eduction, Health (2008)

All of my life I have loved to be physically active. Early on, gymnastics was my passion. After a major knee injury, I shifted to basketball and volleyball (which I played at Houghton Academy when I was a student here). In college, it was basketball year round. Now my favorite activities are tennis, basketball, hiking, and biking with my husband.

Although movement has been a major part of my life, it was not until recent years that I began to think more critically about the nature of it. I have come to realize that movement is God’s idea. He invented, created, and sustains our ability to move, as well as provides the space that is necessary for this movement to occur. Because movement is such a fundamental part of our experience, we can come to think of it as something that belongs to us and that we have a right to, forgetting that apart from God, movement would not be possible.

In physical education classes, one of my goals is for students to appreciate, enjoy, and take advantage of God’s gift of movement. Through regular physical activity, we are able to be a good steward of the incredible, intricately designed bodies God has given us.

I also want to help students learn that we must not worship our bodies, or worship a sport, or worship the recognition and approval that we can receive through them. This would be worshiping the created rather than the Creator. Instead, we must learn to use our bodies and movement as a means by which we can respond to God and give Him the worship that He and He alone deserves.

This is my second year teaching at the Academy. I have found students here to be respectful, caring, and welcoming of others. I look forward to the year ahead and the opportunity to build relationships with both the new and returning students.