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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Stretch


The Olympic athletes are so flexible.

I imagine they spend a lot of their time stretching.

A good stretch feels nice after sitting too long or first thing after a night of sleep. But stretching after prolonged motion, like exercising, also feels wonderful and is actually quite important for feeling pain-free later.

According to MayoClinic.com, the benefits of stretching include increased flexibility, improved range of motion, improved circulation and stress relief.

In training, athletes must stretch themselves physically and mentally to reach goals, prepare for competitions, in order to jump higher, ski faster, skate with more precision.

A stretch can break finish line tape.

I recently stretched my workouts from running three miles to running four. I take that as evidence of getting stronger, healthier, capable of more endurance.

We may not all be athletes, but we all have muscles that need stretching.

Oh, we’re experienced stretchers in some areas - dollars, time, imagination, taste buds.

Sometimes it’s a stretch to get out of bed in the morning.

But benefits abound when we dare to stretch our spirits, hearts, helping hands.

Making the stretch to forgive someone who’s wronged you increases your flexibility.

Volunteering to work in the nursery at church may be a stretch, but it improves your range of motion.

You may be surprised to experience the warm feelings of improved circulation when you take a minute to drop off a meal to a shut-in.

Getting up early on Sunday morning and making it to church before the singing is over will do wonders for your stress levels.

Is God asking you to stretch some area of your life? The thought of whatever it is may cause discomfort and mental resistance, but following through erases all doubts because you’ll feel better than ever - stronger, healthier and capable of greater endurance on this quest God has set forth before us.

Let’s make stretching part of our daily discipline.

Happy Wednesday! Thanks for spending part of it with me here on Dry Ground!


(photos by photobucket.com)

3 comments:

KM Wilsher said...

Nice! I can think of a couple things I should add to my day after reading this :o)

Anonymous said...

Nicely said. I am SOOO not a stretcher. Not when it comes to sport or to stretching myself out of my comfort zone. I so need to work on that.

But then you challenge me to do it DAILY? Ugh. **wink** thanks for the reminder, Lori! I needed to hear this today.

Susanne Dietze said...

Excellent reminder. Sometimes I hate stretching (both physically and spiritually) but afterwards, it's amazing how much better I feel or I recognize that God has moved something in my heart. Thanks.