Clay or Stretch armstrong?

Am I like clay or more like Stretch Armstrong? Such a weird question, but something I've been thinking about a lot. I'm going to try and explain where I am and where I want to be without being all over the place.

First let me start with I never had a Stretch Armstrong, nor have I ever seen one in real life. I'm much too young for that. I'm quite sure Jeff had one, or at least played with one being that he is much older than myself. But, I think we all know that the point of this toy was that you could stretch him and then he would return to his normal shape. So lately I've found myself being stretched by God, but am I staying stretched, so to speak? Am I fully growing or just growing for the moment? Am I truly being clay in His hands or once the streching subsides do I go back to what is comfortable?

While I think I am being both clay in His hands and also Stretch Armstronging it, I want to be only clay. My marriage deserves more clay, this mission deserves more clay, my children deserve more clay and my Creator definitely deserves more clay. For me personally it isn't good enough to be clay sometimes and Stretch Armstrong others. A 50-50 split isn't good enough nor is 75-25. I want to conform more and more to His ways. I want to less and less be Stretch Armstronging it in the flesh. But I have to be honest with you and say "old habits die hard" and I mostly believe that is because these bad habits are comfortable in the moment even if we know they have lasting consequences.

Missions is full of stretching, basically you can't do missions without stretching, not successfully anyways. Often times I find myself being streched and streched and streched by the same thing. Why don't I get it the first time? The answer to that question is that sometimes I lean on MY own understanding more than His. I want to remain in or go back to my comfort zone. I didn't like the way the stretching felt so I quickly withdrew back into my "normal", please read that as sinful, self.

But God, He requires so much more of me. He wants what's truly best for me, not what I, the one seeing the small picture, thinks I want. So in this season of stretching, which will just continue on and on, I'm trying to be more aware, more like clay in the Potter's hands and less like Stretch Armstrong. Call me crazy or weak, but this requires me to be so aware in my daily actions and in conversation with God so frequently because comfort feels better than being stretched. Please pray for me in this area if you think of it.

*Just so you know, Jeff edits all of my blog posts before they get posted because I am a typo queen! He has informed me that he isn't *much* older than me and he never had a Stretch Armstrong.*