Spiritual Stretching

JMJC

One morning I could not, not, not keep my mind off the body of a woman I would see in a meeting later that day. Later upon seeing her in person, my mind raced with fantasies of undressing her, touching her skin, a life together, a night together, …

But throughout these lustful thoughts I also found great spiritual strength in repeatedly stretching my mind – refocusing my attention toward God, offering these desires up to God, minding the humanity of the woman involved, actively listening to people sharing in the meeting, and discerning God’s will for my life and the night.

A physical therapist once told me we can only exercise so much – but we can stretch (correctly) as much as we want. This illustrates why God can ask of us to pray without ceasing… We can certainly over-exercise our own limited willpower, but we can never exceed the capacity to stretch ourselves in pursuing God’s will for our lives.