Stretching Makes Me Stronger

It's time for Five Minute Friday where a flash mob of writers join to write purely for the joy of it and then share our thoughts over at Lisa-Jo's. So, set your timer and clear your head for five minutes of free writing without worrying about getting it right. Today's word?
Stretch
I like to be comfortable. My bed is soft and conforms to my body. I love to be with people who I know and am known by. I love to know what I'm doing and how to do it.

But, comfort does not define me. At least not the past few years. So, I get an adrenaline rush our of every stretching moment. Every time, I find muscles I didn't have.

Greeting for 2000 young adults every Tuesday night for worship? Forget it! But here I am, one year in, and it's my favorite part of serving.

Sharing my struggles with people I don't know? Yeah, right. But, "vulnerability" became the name of my game, and I didn't pull a muscle.

Start a structured office job? No, thanks. But daily I learn new lessons of working with people and respecting those in authority.

Write a book? In my dreams. But slowly, every word poured out of my heart on the page.

Go to Haiti? Never in my mind. But go I did, and it changed my heart. I fell in love with a people of no means who have great worth in the eyes of the King.

I've pulled every muscle in my body doing things I don't want to do. My comfort level is shot to hades, and every new experience out of my comfort zone is as terrifying as it is exhilarating. Stretching changes every part of me, making me stronger, better. I wouldn't trade one sore muscle for an armful of feather pillows.