Avoiding Atrophy

I recently had knee surgery. This summer at jr. high camp I tore my meniscus having some fun with other leaders. We were out way too late and enjoying ourselves a little too much. As the sun rose the next morning I was heading back to camp with crutches and a brace that completely isolated my right leg from moving.After an MRI and an appointment with an orthopedic doctor I found out I needed surgery. The great thing is that my knee is feeling great and everything is starting to work like it should. Almost.One byproduct of having your leg in a brace and being on crutches for a few weeks is that your muscles shrink and atrophy...a lot. The crazy thing to me was how fast atrophy happened. I went from running and riding regularly to having one normal sized leg and one that looked like it didn't even belong on the same body.[quote align="center" color="#999999"]Atrophy can happen quickly.[/quote]There are areas of our lives that can quickly do the same thing. Qualities or characteristics that were once strong and vibrant can quickly shrink and fade, almost becoming unrecognizable if we allow atrophy to set in.A marriage that was once full of care and love seems to be a distant memory.A willingness to grow personally has given way to a desire for the status quo.A heart that was excited about making a difference in the lives of others now only has room for themselves.Areas in life and leadership can quickly atrophy if we allow them to. Most of the time it isn't an intentional decision that gets those things to that condition.Here are 3 principles to remember about Atrophy in life and leadership.1. Too much isolation will rob you.My knee needed to be isolated for a while to begin the healing process. But it wasn't too long after that I was given some exercises to get things moving again. The process of getting me knee healthy had to involve movement. The same is true in our lives and in leadership. Too much isolation will cause things to shrink - robbing you of the opportunity to grow and move beyond where things are currently at.2. It's more difficult to rebuild than maintain.A friend of mine told me that however long my leg was not in use, it will take twice that long to rebuild the muscle. In other words, if my leg wasn't in use for a month, it will take a lest two months of work to get it back to where it was before the injury.It is always easier to maintain something than to rebuild it. I can attest to this with our past few houses that we have lived in and the condition of the yards when we moved in. The rebuilding ALWAYS takes much more effort and time than if someone would have done the easy and proper maintenance along the way.Take a look at your leadership. Consider your life. What are the things that you have allowed the maintenance to slip on? Jump on it before atrophy sets in.3. Use it or Lose it.Things that we allow to fall to the side quickly shrink in our life. If we don't tend to the things that are important to us, they will not stay important. It is a simple idea, but if you don't use it you'll lose it.