The Pain of Being Stretched

This past Saturday, we celebrated my son's 13th birthday. I'm amazed at how quickly the time has passed. It seemed like just yesterday that I watched him being born and now he's a teenager and I'm extremely proud of the young man that he is becoming. As a part of our celebration, we went to an indoor sports facility with some of his friends and played football. I realized very quickly how old and out of shape I'd become.

I used to be pretty athletic. I'd played sports most of my life but as I've gotten older, I've become less active and it has taken a toll. Don't get me wrong. I wasn't inept. I actually made a pretty good showing of myself. I didn't even embaress my teenage son. I threw a bunch of touchdown passes for our team. . . I looked good throwing the ball. But then a 14 year old kid who is fast as the wind, who runs all the time, decided to blitz me as the quarterback and suddenly my limited activity showed. I tried to run away and I almost slipped by him and then it happened. My foot slipped and down I went - someone watching said that I resembled Shamu crashing into the deep pool at Seaworld. I got up and kept playing and truthfully didn't feel too bad. . . until I stopped moving and it was time to come home. I started discovering pain in places I didn't even know had the ability to hurt. Every muscle, every tendon, every joint - everything was tight and it hurt to even move. And my first thought was - "I am too old to do this. I'm not gonna do that again."

Then I got to thinking. . . it was not playing football that had caused me to hurt so much. It was not running and throwing and diving and catching that was causing me to experience pain but rather the muscles in my body that had not been used in the fashion that they were created for were suddenly being stretched . And there is pain in being stretched.

Being stretched is never fun. It means that we're being pulled sometimes into positions or places that are uncomfortable. But for growth to occur, for us to become what we were intended, sometimes we've got to endure the pain of being stretched. Because as we're stretched we're given opportunity to grow. If I will remember the pain that I have experienced over the last few days and allow it to push me into getting in shape, I may not have to endure it again. Because I will have grown from the experience.

Do you feel as if you are being pulled in several directions? Do you feel like you are being stretched in directions you've never been before? Are you experiencing pain from being stretched? If so, consider the growth potentials that may be available in the midst of the pain. Let the muscles scream. Let the joints pop. Let the tendons ache. God may just have you where He wants you - being stretched into your destiny where His best can come to pass in your life.

Well - for now, I'm going to apply some Icy Hot to a sore thigh muscle . . . but hopefully the next time I won't need the old man creme. Maybe, just maybe, I will have grown from this experience and be closer to being in shape. Looking forward to talking to you again soon! God bless -- RP