When you think of your Achilles, what comes to mind? Most likely it’s the story of Achilles and how his heel was his only weakness.
For you, though, the Achilles tendon is a tendon that is approximately 6 inches long and 5 millimeters thick that is located in the back of your lower leg. This tendon connects the heel bones to the calf muscles.
Despite the story of Achilles making it out to be a weakness, the Achilles tendon is the largest and strongest tendon in the body. The Achilles tendons are strong enough to withstand the force of up to 1,100 pounds. A large reason for this immense strength is its hierarchical structure. There are fibrils that are long tubular organelles that are inside fibers. These fibers are all held together to make the fascicles. These fascicles (also called myocytes) provide pathways for the passage of blood vessels and nerves.
In the tendon, its order is its strength. This one tendon does a lot of the work holding your lower half of your leg together and keeping it working. In our churches, the volunteers are the Achilles tendon that keeps everything together. They are strong, and they are what keeps us going. As someone who has an Achilles that stopped working, I can tell you, it is miserable and it is near impossible to function. The same is true in our churches. Without volunteers, the hierarchy that keeps it running so smoothly would collapse.
