Stretching

After quite a few attempts at writing today, I felt the need to stand and stretch, hoping my moving around might create some movement in ideas.  Read a beautiful story this morning one of my friends was writing, filled with imagery and bursts of color. She paints a story like a paintbrush and fills my mind with visions of  her world far removed from mine but touching corners deep in my heart. Her stories encourage me and invite me into her experiences. It is always an invitation to hope that one day I'll be able to experience what she so beautifully describes.

Standing and slowly lowering my arms to the floor, knees slightly relaxed, I discover my fingertips no longer 3 inches from the floor, instead my palms nearly flat on the carpeted floor. It was almost as if  my arms had grown extensions! And what about the absence of pain in the backs of my legs as I finished the stretch and straightened to a standing position? Certainly, I am thankful for my chiropractor's encouragement to stretch as I explained to her the amount of time I spend writing at my computer these days. Settling back into my chair, thoughts about flexibility began to flow through my mind.

First, I pictured my granddaughter proudly displaying her newly acquired ability to do a headstand. She was very proud of the length of time she was able to sustain this stance.  I remembered a recent visit when my grandson announced he was now doing the stretching exercise each day.  Then he imitated the stretch I'd shown him a few weeks ago. He seemed so happy to discover he was also able to reach the floor as if his limbs had grown several inches. He had expressed his displeasure in being unable to reach the floor on his first try just a short time ago. I realized eyes are watching and ears are listening and they are imitating the things they see and hear.

Being a grandmother holds such a place of honor but also a place of great responsibility. I feel limited when my stamina runs out before my day is over or I am unable to stretch my body into a pretzel or join my grandchildren in a cartwheel or goodness me, a split. But I am encouraged today as God showed me I am growing more flexible in my spirit every day as I open my heart and mind to new experiences He has for me. I would like to say it seems as effortless as the twists and turns of my five and eight year old grandchildren. In some ways it has been more like the efforts of my newest grandchild just learning to crawl. We have all observed a child before his first year pulling up to a sofa or chair in his or her attempts to walk. There is a straining and stretching as a little one tries out a new position from which he or she will have a much greater view of the world. Legs a little wobbly, balance a bit shaky but a freedom coming that one never knew..... Stretching...

As I experience the stretching that is taking place in my life, I want those watching, not only my grandchildren, but everyone surrounding me to feel encouraged to see the new horizons and new opportunities God has for us when we surrender our lives to Him. I want them to feel there will always be hope for something new showing up on the canvas of their lives. I am reminded of the description in my friend's story of the joyful appearance of the New England Aster that will come and take over, splashing light and color onto her lawn.

Last night  I visited a maximum security prison where a large number of women inmates gathered to hear God's Word. It isn't difficult to see  how limiting these circumstances might feel to one confined with no hope for immediate release. Surely there must be a feeling of discouragement and displeasure in the limitations of such an environment. Like a rubber band, God stretched me as He never has before as the harsh realities of others' lives snapped into view. Standing before a large group of adults to give my testimony was like exercising a new muscle for me. Making an effort to write about this experience is yet another new muscle bending and flexing.

I pray that the Word of God and the victory in my testimony painted pictures of possibility for each woman who came to be a part of the service last night. Eyes were watching and ears were listening. I pray that seeds were planted in the hearts of women that would cause their hope and courage to be stretched. I pray they will find a place to "Be still and know that He is God." But, I also pray they will find some flexibility in their schedules to study God's Word, that their view of God was stretched and  will begin to call out to Him in prayer.

My testimony would have little meaning, little encouragement to offer, if I hadn't truly found that God is able to stretch His grace and make it abound to me in a way that will provide for a fresh new outlook on life. As I stretch my faith, I can see a vision of many of these women saying, "Look! see who I've become. God's Word painted a picture of hope for me and the hope of how he entered your own personal darkness touched something deep in my heart and I was changed."

One of my greatest desires as a grandmother is to provide hope for my grandchildren's future. For quite some time, I have dreaded, even feared the day when I would have to share unsavory parts of my story with my grandchildren. Today I had a revelation of the greatness of God and His plan. The season of my life that was filled with shame and disappointment is over. He has stretched out a fresh page on which my story will be written.  As God stretches my view of Him and paints a new story of His great love on my heart, my grandchildren can know the greatest story ever told. They will see how He stretched Himself on an old rugged cross for me and for anyone who would desire to surrender themselves to Him.  He flung open the prison doors and let us all go free! A brand new picture... a brand new landscape... a brand new life stretching into eternity!