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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: STRESSED - Begins January 18 / Ends January 25 (01/18/18)
Have you ever had a hairline fracture aka stress fracture? Fortunately for me, I’ve never experienced one, but I have been told by sufferers that it is a very painful condition to endure. If you are not familiar with the term, a hairline or stress fracture is a small crack or severe bruise within a bone. This crack or bruise causes swelling and pain in the affected area, that normally gets worse over time and may result in a limp. What causes this condition you ask? As its name implies, a stress fracture is the consequence of repetitive overuse or stress. Long distance runners are often the subject of this condition. Overuse causes the fracture so understandably the treatment lies in elevating and resting the bone to allow it time to heal; This is in addition to possibly wearing a walking boot or brace or the use of crutches.
Appliances are manufactured to aid in a specific task and come with manuals that explain the proper use and care of them to ensure proper functioning and longevity. Washing machines for example, have load capacities and different settings for various load types. This information would be spelled out in the manual you receive with purchase. If you ignore the manufacturer’s recommended use and repeatedly overload the washer beyond its capacity, it will not be long before the machine malfunctions. While it can perform the task, it was built to perform, pushing it beyond its normal limits results in a breakdown.
Like an overstressed bone or an overworked appliance, our spirit can be subject to injury, damage, or a breakdown, when we allow ourselves to be consistently burdened down, overwhelmed, or in a constant state of worry/anxiety. This is the reason our manufacturer, our Creator cautions us to “let not our hearts be troubled” (John 14:1) and he further encourages us to give Him our worries and burdens, to cast them on Him because He cares for us (1Peter 5:7). We can give them to Him without hesitation, knowing that He is able to carry both them and us.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Jenny Fulton 
01/27/18
You did a good job tying together three different kinds of stress and including a spiritual application at the end.

Try putting spaces between your paragraphs as it will make the entry easier to read.
C D Swanson 
01/28/18
Wonderful message!
Great entry...loved this.

Blessings~
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
01/31/18
This is a lovely devotion. You make some good points.

It's a wee bit dry though. I like where you were headed with it though. One thought might be to make it fiction and describe a woman who has a hairline fracture, and then her washer breaks down. There are other ways to make it pop too if you didn't want to do that. Perhaps add some humor to it. Also, you need a way to connect the fracture to the washing machine. You could do that by starting a new paragraph and say something like this: Our bodies are similar to machines. Just like a bone can handle only so much, the same is true for the washing machine.

I liked your idea for sure. I thought it was a unique take on the topic. The message is a powerful one too. I needed to be reminded not to put too much weight on my soul right now. And Jesus is always there to help shoulder my worries.