S~T~R~E~T~C~H

“Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says--'I cannot stand anymore.' God does not heed, He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in God's hands. Maintain your relationship to Jesus Christ by the patience of faith. 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”

― Oswald Chambers

PHOTO SOURCE

Why do felines stretch?

I found a very good answer to this question here:

 "Cats are hunters of opportunity and so anytime they wake up from sleeping, they stretch so they are immediately ready to hunt. If you watch slow motion film of large cats running, you will see that they don't just kick their legs forward to run, they also flex their backs a lot and so they run with their legs but they also run with their backs. You gotta stretch it all if you want it all to work on a moment's notice."

For a time during my short indisposition due to mild stroke, I was coached to regain flexibility through therapy.  It was easier to do with the help of a PT practitioner within the confines of a hospital rehabilitation center.  You get energetic push and you oblige.
 
I regained back my steps in just a week and was fully walking on my own in less than two weeks.

There is also a good advice for us to stretch just enough everyday to make our bodies attuned and  retain flexibility.  Most animals do there stretching preludes to bolt into action as soon as a hunt is at hand or for flight when there is a predator.  Why don't humans  copy this instinct so that one is always ready for anything?  I am a sore member in this club too.

Anyway, back to my stretching.

After a while, I was slackening, not doing my necessary flexibility regimen.  And then I noticed that I could no longer button up or zip up without the pain of reaching too far back.  This jolted me to go back to stretching little by little until the pain went away and I could dress without assistance.


What about character stretch?

Yes, this is an area that God supervises so diligently.  Until He gets the response and see the purpose he designs for us, He goes on to stretch us.  Just like what Mr. Oswald Chambers quoted and pinned right on target above.

S~T~R~E~T~C~H!

Just enough so.  And after the character muscle toning, it becomes easier for us to flex along the area.

Then God goes again to S~T~R~E~T~C~H us on another rung up.  Time to level up, Lord!

But mostly, just like how I became complacent with my exercises,  it is always easy to fall back and Jesus needs to rescue us over and over again.

This reminds me of Peter walking on water with Jesus.  It was alright for a while but the things of earth sharpened again blurring His sight upon Jesus.  He sank and Jesus had to rescue him.

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.) Matthew 14:31
And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

While contemplating in this thought, there is clarity in the image I am seeing.  My little faith (mustard seed sized) is stretched just enough (according to my capability).  It is God stretching (99.9%) out to me and for me, to fill in for my own feeble investment.   I know that I can't produce the fruits with my own work but by His spirit.

Thank you God that we are being stretched by a God who is after our welfare and who loves us so much that we get just enough every time and benefit by it.  And I am so grateful, Father, that you are always in the lookout especially in times that we need to be rescued.  We trust in you, God.  Amen.

I wonder how much stretching does God have to make to launch me to flight?






I am linking this post to Pam's of Writing Applies of Gold.  She wrote about Stretch in response to the word prompt in community with Lisa-Jo Baker's 5Minute Friday.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE!
AND A BLESSED SUNDAY!