stretching our spiritual muscles

So, for all of you who don't know.... I took a pretty big tumble the other day.  Scraped my knee up pretty bad (as in I probably should have gone to the ER but I'm too chicken, unless I have my mommy or daddy with me).  Anyway, I woke up today feeling less than under the weather.  I could hardly move.  It was like walking like a newborn deer.  I couldn't bend my knee... still can't.  My whole left side feels like it was run over my a truck.  Meaning, I basically pulled as many muscles as I could to catch myself falling when I did.  But, I now see it as a blessing.  A small lesson of faith as you will.  I was talking to my sister today and I told her this.  I also told her that there were a few songs on the radio that I heard on my way to class that I really like about God's healing hands and how I probably need that right now.  Her immediate response was, "That's so much like when we fall spiritually that we need to use all of the spiritual muscles we didn't know we had in order to catch us when we fall."  THIS IS SO TRUE!!! Our spiritual muscles are stretched further than we thought possible when we do fall spiritually, much like when we try to catch ourselves when we fall or tip over ourselves.  I had never thought of this before.  I just looked at it as my knee hurt and I need to make it feel better.  But, what about letting God handle that department.  Yeah, I may have a bruised spirit and sporadic pain but I need to let God handle that part of my life.  We may be stretched to the max when we spiritually fall and we often question why God would put us through situations that we feel like we cannot handle anymore and so we are so close to giving up.  It is a very strenuous feeling, like pulling our muscles or stretching them as far as they can go.  However, I do not believe that God allows situations to happen that we are not prepared for.   If anything, most of the situations that we go through are preparing us either for another great struggle or even our ministry that we didn't know that we were going to be called into until God knew we were ready.  It's amazing what little things you can learn in your everyday life that can directly correlate to your spiritual life. 

Everything just fell into place.  With this whole discussion with my sister to reading about Mary Beth Chapman and her family's struggles with losing Maria.  That family still has a strong faith even through such tragedy.  Not saying they did not have questions about their situation and why it happened but that they trusted God to use it for something better.  They were stretched to their max and God is showing them a bigger purpose for their lives and showing them that Maria is now saving more people than anyone thought possible.  So when your spiritual muscles are being stretched just know that there will be a greater purpose and plan for that pain and something amazing will come out of your heartache.  God has a plan that we cannot see but that He is preparing us for.