MUSCLE MEMORY

 

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows;
He leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to His name.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for You are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of theLord forever.”
Psalm 23 (New Living Translation)

Muscle memory really amazes me when I REALLY think about it! Training as a ballet dancer is vigorous. It takes patience. It takes trusting in the process. It takes repetition. Doing the same steps over and over and over again until they become so natural that the legs, the feet, the arms, the head….go where they are supposed to go when they are supposed to. Ballet dancers spend hours at the barre, repeating exercises over and over again to train the muscles EXACTLY where to go….the legs, feet, arms, and head conform to a technique that becomes a door to beautiful, elegant, and magical performing. The only way to reach this beauty is to keep repeating the training….keep reminding the muscles where they go….And we have to block out the doubts, the distractions, and the disappointments, so that we can soak in the training, the growing, and the improving.

Sometimes, no often times, I need to go back and remind myself, my mind, Whose I am, Who I belong to, and what is most important. I like to “escape” to my Bible, journal, and pen (yes, purple one) and read over what God has taught me recently. Because just like my muscles need repetition in order to function with fluidity, beauty, and ease, my mind needs repetition on God’s Word and His promises in order to feed my thoughts, which feed my actions, which feed my life.

How sweet is our Lord that we can escape to Him for a refuel, recharge, restart….He wants You to read and re-read His Word, feed on it, meditate on it, because it is the training You need, You crave, for life, for living.

He wants to remind you that He is your shepherd.
That you have all you need in Him.
That He offers you rest…..deep, soul rest.
He renews your strength.
He guides you along right paths……

You get the idea.

What if we meditate on Him, spend time with Him, and focus on Him, so that our thought patterns change, our perspective changes, and we live in freedom because this walking with Him becomes second nature, our new nature? Like muscle memory, what if our focus on Him transforms our “spiritual memory” so that our natural inclinations become obedience and holiness?

In ballet, this process of getting to muscle memory….all this repetition….is not always pleasant.I recall MANY times in class, questioning  if all this sweat and sometimes tears was really worth it….would it pay off? It always does! The joy of dancing and performing is definitely worth it! Obedience to God in the little things isn’t always pleasant….but part of obedience to God is trusting that the joy, peace, and freedom will come. I just read this from the book Captivating…

“ROMANCE WITH GOD IS THE ROOT OF ALL HOLINESS.”

God’s love for us and our love for Him is what motivates us to obey, to turn to Him, to spend time with Him, to keep coming back to God’s Word for more wisdom, more guidance, more truth.

Oh how I need to remember and refocus on Him and on His love for me….

Prayer: “Lord, thank You that You are always there. Always near. When the distractions pull me away, help me get back to Your Word and to You because that is where abundant living starts.