I remember a toy my brother got for Christmas one year, not because he loved it so much, or because it was what he was begging for "just gotta have it mom" - no I remember it best because it was toy he let me play with too. Stretch Armstrong!
He was the best! No matter what you did to him, he always returned to his original formed muscle self. He didn't warp in the rain, break from dropping, and Stretch could withstand the worst punishment imagined. L. would take one arm and I would take another and L. would try to climb as many stairs up to the second floor before one of us gave out. His limit was 13 stairs - whatta record.
Our neighbor twins L & J. would race on their bikes down the street, moving farther and farther apart from each other as Stretch was suspended between them, doing his job, stretching to beat the band. L. would be on one sidewalk and J. would be on the other and Stretch Armstrong would be thinner than anything fully crossing the street. And we all stood back in a form of awe.
We thought it was the coolest thing.
Me opening a bedroom window on the second floor with L. outside on the ground level and I'd lower stretch by a string until L. grabbed him and then we'd see if Stretch could make it to the second floor stretch - He always did! Stretch was beyond belief. And even though these exercises were extreme, he never lost his integrity or his shape. he was ready for the next torturous creative idea another kid would have.
One day, my brother L. put Stretch in the freezer, as an experiment, to challenge the conditions of his stretchiness - what will happen now?
Well, the next stretching exercise was an eye-opening one for us. Fresh from the deep freeze, Stretch Armstrong, ruler of this physical stretch space of our neighborhood, simply snapped open - his arm came right off. And out oozed this maple-syrup looking gunk - none of us wanted to touch it, it was Stretch Armstrong blood, you know. It was gory, disgusting and disappointing. No duct tape was going to fix this problem, no stapling or gluing. Stretch Armstrong as we knew him as gone.
Though we replaced Stretch Armstrong, we never played with him in the reckless abandon we had done before, it didn't seem right to ignore the fact that there were physical boundaries that could not be overlooked. We stretched this new Stretch Armstrong, but not to test his limits, we knew what could break him and we didn't want to see it again.
Stretch Armstrong is present in my mind right now because I have felt the pull of the imperative this week. This week brought three funerals, and each circumstance brought a new way to pull, to stretch our time management, office management, program management, family management. Stretched to the limit, and I made some mistakes which I could not correct. I needed help (thank you so much Tom and Sue - really where would I have been without you?!) Many miles to travel for spiritual and emotional counsel to others. Finding the sheet music to the perfect key of The Lord's Prayer. (Dave needed it in D, not Ab or C or Eb - the ones I had. No he needed D. So D he got! Whew!) My husband and I also had an Advisory Board meeting this week, a very important one, not to be missed. Christmas applications. A meal for 25. And T. had two hockey practices. He also had review for Tenderfoot and Second class ranks for his scouting (and achieved them both). A. and N. have a Fall festival Friday and need costumes. Cub Scouts, brownies and Juniors added in.
The week was reduced to the imperatives: what absolutely has to be accomplished? What can wait? Will we die because we had cereal for dinner or left-overs for breakfast? And the laundry gave me the biggest freedom - everyone's closet had 7 matched outfits, they might not have been the favorites, but they were clean.
The stretchiness of my flexibility would have been like that Stretch Armstrong from the freezer if I didn't have the words of God protecting this week...Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip - He who watches over you will not slumber;
Indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber or sleep.
The LORD watches over you - the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm - He will watch over your life. the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
With God in charge of all the areas ministry will bring our way, we can encountner the "Stretch Armstrong parts" and survive. None could have happened without the help of neighbors, friends, staff, congregation, family - and God had placed them all right there, right then, and lubricated the circumstances with His grace, His understanding.
Now, I may need a St. Bernard to come and find my ailing body beneath this mountain avalanche of dirty clothing - there's no avoiding it anymore. Tonight's job may be about 20 loads. Glad I have a Low Carb Monster in the fridge...I keep a spare exactly for these type of occasions.
Enjoy your evening as you walk with the Master and stretch your envelope of faith and devotion under His care and guidance.
He was the best! No matter what you did to him, he always returned to his original formed muscle self. He didn't warp in the rain, break from dropping, and Stretch could withstand the worst punishment imagined. L. would take one arm and I would take another and L. would try to climb as many stairs up to the second floor before one of us gave out. His limit was 13 stairs - whatta record.
Our neighbor twins L & J. would race on their bikes down the street, moving farther and farther apart from each other as Stretch was suspended between them, doing his job, stretching to beat the band. L. would be on one sidewalk and J. would be on the other and Stretch Armstrong would be thinner than anything fully crossing the street. And we all stood back in a form of awe.
We thought it was the coolest thing.
Me opening a bedroom window on the second floor with L. outside on the ground level and I'd lower stretch by a string until L. grabbed him and then we'd see if Stretch could make it to the second floor stretch - He always did! Stretch was beyond belief. And even though these exercises were extreme, he never lost his integrity or his shape. he was ready for the next torturous creative idea another kid would have.
One day, my brother L. put Stretch in the freezer, as an experiment, to challenge the conditions of his stretchiness - what will happen now?
Well, the next stretching exercise was an eye-opening one for us. Fresh from the deep freeze, Stretch Armstrong, ruler of this physical stretch space of our neighborhood, simply snapped open - his arm came right off. And out oozed this maple-syrup looking gunk - none of us wanted to touch it, it was Stretch Armstrong blood, you know. It was gory, disgusting and disappointing. No duct tape was going to fix this problem, no stapling or gluing. Stretch Armstrong as we knew him as gone.
Though we replaced Stretch Armstrong, we never played with him in the reckless abandon we had done before, it didn't seem right to ignore the fact that there were physical boundaries that could not be overlooked. We stretched this new Stretch Armstrong, but not to test his limits, we knew what could break him and we didn't want to see it again.
Stretch Armstrong is present in my mind right now because I have felt the pull of the imperative this week. This week brought three funerals, and each circumstance brought a new way to pull, to stretch our time management, office management, program management, family management. Stretched to the limit, and I made some mistakes which I could not correct. I needed help (thank you so much Tom and Sue - really where would I have been without you?!) Many miles to travel for spiritual and emotional counsel to others. Finding the sheet music to the perfect key of The Lord's Prayer. (Dave needed it in D, not Ab or C or Eb - the ones I had. No he needed D. So D he got! Whew!) My husband and I also had an Advisory Board meeting this week, a very important one, not to be missed. Christmas applications. A meal for 25. And T. had two hockey practices. He also had review for Tenderfoot and Second class ranks for his scouting (and achieved them both). A. and N. have a Fall festival Friday and need costumes. Cub Scouts, brownies and Juniors added in.
The week was reduced to the imperatives: what absolutely has to be accomplished? What can wait? Will we die because we had cereal for dinner or left-overs for breakfast? And the laundry gave me the biggest freedom - everyone's closet had 7 matched outfits, they might not have been the favorites, but they were clean.
The stretchiness of my flexibility would have been like that Stretch Armstrong from the freezer if I didn't have the words of God protecting this week...Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip - He who watches over you will not slumber;
Indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber or sleep.
The LORD watches over you - the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm - He will watch over your life. the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
With God in charge of all the areas ministry will bring our way, we can encountner the "Stretch Armstrong parts" and survive. None could have happened without the help of neighbors, friends, staff, congregation, family - and God had placed them all right there, right then, and lubricated the circumstances with His grace, His understanding.
Now, I may need a St. Bernard to come and find my ailing body beneath this mountain avalanche of dirty clothing - there's no avoiding it anymore. Tonight's job may be about 20 loads. Glad I have a Low Carb Monster in the fridge...I keep a spare exactly for these type of occasions.
Enjoy your evening as you walk with the Master and stretch your envelope of faith and devotion under His care and guidance.
1 comment:
Great blog! As soon as I finished reading I had the point..... isn't it great that the body we belong to,. has more stretch than Armstrong ? Its' a great promise that "His Right Arm haws gotten Him the victory " and that the power of Christ is not diminished though stretched over 2000 years.
Although I have to admit that I certainly pray that next week is a little lighter for you and the family..... blessings,
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