Why I wanted a Stretch Armstrong action figure, I’ll never know. Most girls my age wanted Barbies. But TV commercials had their way with me and I wanted him. I coveted him. And one Christmas, I got him. The minute I read the packaging, I became a girl with a goal. Stretch Armstrong was billed as unbreakable, so naturally, I stretched, twisted, and contorted him into all manner of unhuman positions.
Then one day Stretch broke! And you know what? He was just full of gooey stuff.
Looking back, I wish I would have let Stretch just live in peace on my bookshelf. He would remind me that we have an enemy who tries to stretch us to the brink, too. Satan may stretch, twist, and try to contort us in this life, but unlike that gooey, gel-filled dude doll of my youth, we will always default to our position as a protected, treasured child of God.
If you feel stretched this holiday season, remember that the God is always—always—forming us into who He wants us to be. Unlike a certain 8-year-old girl, God never stretches us, or allows us to be stretched, in order to break us. He always, only wants us to grow.
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