This winter Cozy Thomas introduced me to a Christian yoga instructor who wondered if we would be interested in hosting classes here at Central. We agreed and it has been such a blessing!
Lisa Bush teaches here on Wednesdays and we recently added a “chair” yoga class for people who have a hard time getting down on the floor to stretch. I heartily recommend the classes to everyone. We all need to stretch and bend and stay flexible. It’s good for the body and it’s good for our souls as well.
Throughout life it has been evident to me that God keeps stretching and shaping me for the next thing God has in mind. All along the way I have had chances to say yes or no to these opportunities. It’s not that God was controlling or manipulating the next moves. It was more that God was opening doors and making way in life for the next right thing. My role was to pay attention, through prayer and discernment and then to make room in my life for that next thing. Most often it was simply a matter of making room in my calendar and stepping out in faith that this was the path God was hoping I would choose.
Yoga was a good choice. It limbers the body and focuses the mind. It is a great stress reliever and muscle toner. It has increased my flexibility at a time in life when being comfortable can get more attention than being stretched and growing stronger. It has reminded me that mental flexibility and agility is important, too. It has reminded me that God is still at work in our lives, regardless of age or stage, wanting us to remain open to growing in new directions.
At Mt. Pleasant First United Methodist Church I will be further stretched: leading contemporary as well as traditional worship services, being televised each week for rebroadcast on the local access television, and working in a college town which gives a different flavor to life. And while there are so many people and beautiful aspects of living and working here that I will sorely miss, I trust that God is opening a door to the next right thing.
Our faith grows stronger every time it is stretched. May you all be open to God’s invitation to grow, even if it requires some stretching and increased flexibility.
Spring-time blessings to all,
Diane Gordon, Senior Pastor
