There are lots of things in the world that stretch. Some are pleasant---Like the stretch of warmed mozzarella cheese coming off a bite of homemade flat bread with fresh basil. Ooo...that's some yummy stretchiness. Or the stretch in jeans now-a-days. The fact that I can wear a size smaller than I know I really am just because I know there's a little give in them. I love this stretchiness a lot. I love it because then I can eat just a little more of the mozzarella goodness and know that I can still fit into my jeans. Or how about that brand new morning stretch after a great night's sleep? Stretching out all the kinks that my strange position put into my neck and hearing the ligaments pop and make ready to carry my body through the day. It feels amazing. In contrast, there are some stretches that are less than comfortable. Like the multitude of stretches I have put my body through attempting Pilates. I'm still recovering. Or the stretching that took place on a table in Physical Therapy after injuring my knee. The kind that made tears spring to my eyes unbidden and shocking in intensity. These kind of stretches hurt. Yet they are intended for good to come from them. Health maintained. Vitality restored. Strength-inducing.
God is doing some of those kind of stretches here in my home for all of us it seems. My husband is stretching his mental boundaries and making room for more genius to dwell in his cranium. He is learning the fine art of balancing loads of work, pressure of deadlines and a family who still desires him to lead us, know us and love us well. It's not easy. Sometimes he misses the mark. But he is growing smarter, wiser and more compassionate.
I am being stretched to see how much of myself I can lay down and die to. Will I be willing to serve my husband with a cheerful heart so that he can study harder and achieve more? Will I be willing to make less of my wants and more of what God wants to accomplish in me? Will I embrace those that the Lord puts in my path here and love them fully even when in a year I will have to say goodbye? Can I resist the temptation to protect myself? God is stretching me. It's not easy. Sometimes I miss the mark. But I am growing more humble, more thankful and more loving.
My children are being challenged remarkably this year as well. We have asked them to trust more deeply in the Sovereign Hand of their Maker and to walk in this painful path of leaving dearest friends with eyes wide open to the possibilities of God's plan for their life. We have asked them to exchange comfort and stability for the different and strange. We have switched up their schooling and asked them to trust us and try. It is going to be hard. It is already stretching the limits of what they think they are capable of. But they will grow this year. And it will be good growth---Life-sustaining, faith-inspiring growth, Lord willing.
Sometimes the stretching is painful. But it is always for our good. It is mind-boggling and incredibly remarkable to me that while God gives us circumstances that cause us to have to stand on tiptoe, raise our arms up to the sky and reach higher, He bends to grasp our hands and help us to walk. The God who fashioned the heavens and put the earth on its axis stoops to hold me up. This thought makes me want to cover my face and weep. How can He love me that much? Yet He does. As He loves my husband, my children and you.
So stretch me more, my Father in Heaven! So that I might walk, hands-clasped with You and depend on You to help me take each step.
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