{"id":24540,"date":"2018-11-07T03:30:52","date_gmt":"2018-11-07T11:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=24540"},"modified":"2018-11-06T16:12:11","modified_gmt":"2018-11-07T00:12:11","slug":"november-7-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2018\/11\/07\/november-7-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"November 7, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\u201cSo then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way\u2026\u201d <\/em>Hebrews 12:1 (GNT)<\/em><\/p>\n

Constricted<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It was the middle of the night, and I was on a plane somewhere over the Atlantic. I was excited for this trip, but this first 12-hour leg was proving to be brutal. I had the window seat; large men occupied the other two seats. My discomfort was growing. It wasn\u2019t the fact that I had very little legroom, or that I was cramming myself against the window in an effort to give the poor man in the middle more room. No, it was far worse. It was my, *ahem*, \u201cfoundational garment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Me:\u00a0<\/em>You\u2019re getting awfully tight.<\/p>\n

Garment:\u00a0<\/em>So? You\u2019re the one who decided to wear me on this long trip!<\/p>\n

Me:\u00a0<\/em>But you\u2019re the sports variety. You\u2019re supposed to be extra comfortable.<\/p>\n

Garment:\u00a0<\/em>Ha-ha! Fooled ya\u2019!<\/p>\n

Me:\u00a0<\/em>I\u2019m going to pull you lower around my ribs.<\/p>\n

Garment:\u00a0<\/em>I\u2019ll just ride up again.<\/p>\n

Me:\u00a0<\/em>Can\u2019t you let up just a little?<\/p>\n

Garment:\u00a0<\/em>No. I\u2019m going to keep squeezing until your ribs feel like they\u2019re being crushed by a boa constrictor.<\/p>\n

Me:\u00a0<\/em>My seatmates are asleep, so I can\u2019t get up. Please, just a little\u00a0<\/em>relief?<\/p>\n

Garment:\u00a0<\/em>Isn\u2019t it great how this high altitude is making it worse? Squeeeeeeeeeeeeze!<\/p>\n

Finally, I simply could not bear it any more. I looked at my seatmates, reluctant to wake them. Hmmmm, they appeared to be\u00a0really\u00a0<\/em>asleep, not just dozing. I jostled around. Neither of them moved. I glanced around. Everyone was sleeping\u2014probably because\u00a0they <\/em>weren\u2019t being strangled by a small piece of Lycra straight from Hades. Using my shawl as a tent, I stealthily began the contortions that would free me from my misery, no small feat, since I was also wearing a camisole under my shirt. Thankfully I\u2019m flexible and soon, though it fought to the bitter end, I was free and the offending garment was tucked away in my bag, never to taunt me again. HALLELUJAH!!<\/p>\n

Sometimes, I feel like God is squeezing me as much as my garment was. I\u2019m ashamed to say that I can feel crushed by the obedience He is asking of me, by the trials I go through, and the discipline of what it takes be His daughter. I don\u2019t want to feel constricted; I want my walk to be easy. I want to always feel\u00a0<\/em>like worshiping, to desire\u00a0<\/em>to read His Word. I want\u00a0unwavering\u00a0<\/em>faith, never allowing doubt to creep in. I fail often.<\/p>\n

The thing is though, without these \u201cconstrictions,\u201d I will grow stagnant, and that is far worse than losing my comfort. God wants us, His daughters, to be closer to Him, and sometimes, He just has to give us a little (or big) squeeze.<\/p>\n

\u201cLord, forgive me for the times I would rather be comfortable than go through what it takes to make me more like You. Please help me to be a good example and to bring You honor. In Jesus\u2019 name, Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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