Am I the only one that has trouble staying focused for long periods of time? I started stretching recently to aid during my recovery from major back surgery. Everyone kept telling me, “Try to stretch more - it will make you feel great!” So, I did what any woman would do when given advice by “everyone” and I invested in cute exercise leggings. I’ll admit I already had one pair for days when I wanted to eat more chocolate! 

Sometimes people tell you to work on your breathing in conjunction with stretching which became my first challenge. When I breathed like they suggested, I either hyperventilated or got light headed and I know fainting isn’t part of the plan. When I tried to hold my breath longer, I saw myself in the mirror and I looked purple like Violet, the little girl from the Willy Wonka movie. What’s wrong with me I wondered – why can’t I do stretch like the woman in my video? She made it look effortless! Of course she’s 5’8, skinny as a rail, and about 29 years old. On the other hand, I am 50, curvy and 5’3 on a good day. I believe in rounding up with height and rounding down with weight for a win-win approach!

Trying to breath slowly and follow the girl’s streches on my computer, I realized how slow the pace was and I began to think of other things I could be accomplishing. I wondered, “Am I only one whose mind wanders - was I wasting precious time?” Inadvertently, I found myself breathing faster hoping it would speed up the streching session and I would get done sooner so I could get more done around the house!  

On the other hand, when I slowed down, I realized I could actually do something else during the strech session which made me feel constructive - like multi-tasking is actually effective! My mind wandered again, “Am I the only one trying to make exercise also productive?” Then rationality hit and I realized, didn’t this defeat the reason for focus in the first place?  I suppose it matters why you are exercising. After all, I was doing it to strengthen my core and stretch my back, not necessarily for relaxation. As I write this, I realized that maybe I should be doing it for relaxation and focus!

I learned to balance on my left hand and answer text messages or emails with my right hand if I used voice dictation. I could also throw a tennis ball for my puppy because for some reason she liked to play while I was preoccupied exercising. When I played a game of fetch, I actually got a little bit of a stretch in between ball throws before she jumped up and grabbed my hair again. 

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”  What an amazing verse yet my being half-century in age, (pause – I take a break for some chocolate because this fact just hit me) I realized “being still & trusting God” is something I am working on mastering. I am learning to BE and hand everything over to my Creator who has ultimate control and can truly handle my issues and mishaps? I am learning to be STILL, to meditate on God’s goodness, His Word, to relax in stillness, and completely trust Him. I am seeking to eliminate the what if game from my vocabulary. I have learned I don’t need to play out all scenarios in my head so I can resolve each one of them instead of relying on my Heavenly Father in ALL things?

Instead of being still, sometimes I find myself doing something all the time: listening to music, watching a movie, shopping, running errands, meeting with friends, exercising, or constantly on the go? Did God write this verse just for me? As I speak with more and more women, they also seem to struggle with the concept of being still, which inadvertantly creates a cycle of worry and anxiety. Is it a sign of our times and busy multi-media society which causes us to feel the need to be in constant control? One would have to say, ‘no’ because the Bible was written long ago yet it is timeliness and pertained to women then and pertains to us now. God created us and knows our human nature is not to BE Still and to struggle to fully trust Him. 

Imagine how we might be able to relax and hear Christ if only we could wrap our heads around this simple concept. We would experience less stress, anxiety, depression and fewer identity crisis. We would probably eat less ice cream and chocolate during times of difficulty as well! Comprehension of this simple, yet profound Bible verse would allow us to experience God’s peace, relaxation, rejuvenation and fulfillment. Who doesn’t want all of these things?

                                                                                     Diana