Whether we are talking Olympic competition, achieving optimal health, or making good career choices, stretching to the next level and constantly pressing forward in our abilities to excellence is the potential we have inside. Just ask Nastia Liukin, the U.S. Olympic gymnast, who wore a smile that lit up her whole face as she climbed atop the medals podium and waved to the crowd. She blinked back tears of joy as the gold medal was placed around her neck. While I am not competing for any gold medal, I am pressing forward and stretching myself to stay fit. I'm also stretching myself in the classroom to do the best possible job with my students that I can do. Today I actually got to teach literature, which is my subject area, and I did stretch myself to present the material in a way that was enthusiastic and, I hope, interesting to them. I have also been stretching myself at home with my family. We had a couple of grown kids move back in a month ago, and it is definitely a stretch to keep my patience with them until they are able to move out and make it on their own. The bible teaches that we have the Holy Spirit inside to give us guidance and wisdom to handle these kinds of situations, and I call on Him daily to help me with this. Joel Osteen asks this question in chapter one of BECOME A BETTER YOU: "Are you ready to break free from your self-imposed limitations and start stretching to the next level?" I think I am. I just need to get my eyes off my problems and onto my God. As for achieving optimal health and staying fit, I am so ready to feel energetic and wear cute clothes again. I will keep my eyes fixed on the prize as Paul did in Philippians 3:14.
4 comments:
Wow! Last night Nastia Liukin was denied a gold in the uneven parallel bars due to a tiebreaker. In a very classy way she responded, "It’s nothing I can control, and honestly, I can say it has been very fair to me, and I got the biggest gold medal of them all." She won the women’s all-around gymnastics gold. What a good example of stretching to the next level and pressing forward! She is growing better, not bitter. That's how I want to respond to disappointment. Lord, I need help in becoming a better me.
Our grown kids are stretching to the next level and pressing forward. They moved out today. I have all the confidence in the world in them. I know they will do well, and I'm proud of them for making the decision to go out on their own and pursue their dreams!
"There are precious few Einsteins among us. Most brillance arises from ordinary people working together in extraordinary ways." Roger von Oech
Marianne Williamson says that in the eyes of God, we're all perfect and we have unlimited capacity to express brilliantly. She says we need to give ourselves permission to shine, to blossom fully, to show up powerfully in the present without fearing that we're not good enough. We don't have to be perfect; we just need to press past our fears and stretch to the next level. We need to make a move today to live fully in the moment.
Post a Comment