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Articles with the Tag Freedom
Path of Freedom
WELCOME TO MY BLOG!
You have come to a safe place where we can share our victories and our challenges. Sometimes we need to pause and process what is happening in our lives so we can make progress on our journey of life.
When God showed me His path of freedom, I was able to let go of my fear of rejection and become the authentic person God created me to be. I don't know where you are on your personal journey, but I hope my blogs and the comments of others will give you courage to move from fear to freedom.
Please feel free to ask questions, share thoughts, or give your response to a blog. Simply click on the title of the blog, and leave your comment in the box at the bottom of the page.
New Life out of Tragedy
For the first time in my life, I feel like I belong in my family.
This unexpected thought came to my mind because of a tragedy in our family: the loss of my young cousin, Ashley, in Oregon. That day the temperature was 116 degrees, and it appears she succumbed to the intense heat.
Sorrow flowed through our hearts. As we wrestled with the reality of Ashley’s absence, God began to bring about changes in our family.
We craved to know how each of us was coping. More frequent communication and deeper expressions of love flowed between us. Since I live in Orlando, lengthy phone calls ensued and texts flew back and forth. I also expressed love for them through my cards and letters.
When I flew to Oregon to see them, we all gathered at Cary’s home. The sun was bright. Salmon and fresh-picked corn sizzled on Cary’s grill while we sat together in his beautiful backyard, surrounded by towering fir trees and summer dahlias. A beautifully-crafted waterfall produced a soothing sound as we engaged in easy conversation sprinkled with laughter. My heart soared.
The following week, I sat under the patio umbrella in Blair and Peggy’s backyard. We enjoyed a free-flowing conversation for several hours like three friends who were used to being together. A few days later, Justin and I met for lunch to share personal things that mattered to us. Justin’s text warmed my heart. “I had a great time catching up at lunch. I’m glad we were able to have that time together.”
The day before my flight back to Orlando, the unusual thought popped into my mind: I feel like I belong in this family now. When I shared my feelings with Cary and Blair, they were puzzled. Both responded, “You’ve always been part of the family!”
That’s when I realized a deep change had taken place inside of me. When the others pulled me into their daily lives, I felt closer to them and more willing to express my feelings and emotions. In return, they became more open and honest with me.
Cary calls me once a week. Before I left town, Blair said, “Please keep calling me. I’m not good at initiating, but I enjoy talking to you.” Justin and I want to find a mutual time to talk together on Zoom.
This kind of closeness may already be a part of your family life; for us it’s a new era. God planned to bring new life out of our tragedy. Because of my personal experience, I understand in a deeper way why God gave us this instruction:
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT)
“Family togetherness” is at the top of my thanksgiving list. What will you thank God for this month? Post your comment below.
Unexpected Breakthrough
Sometimes breakthrough is a process. The woodpecker doesn’t stop to worry about what the other birds think about them, it just does what it is designed to do. ~ Sammy Robinson
When I read this quote in the blog of my friend, Elizabeth Horbelt,* the words reminded me of one of my breakthroughs during a writing conference in 2004. Because I cared so much what people thought of me, I had unconsciously built an invisible wall to protect myself from possible rejection. God was about to disclose the results of my decision.
On the first evening, the conference keynote speaker said, “Breakthrough to the next level comes only through brokenness.” He grabbed my attention immediately.
“Not your efforts, but brokenness, helps you get through to a new level,” the speaker continued. “God will hit where we have built walls that keep Him at a distance. We all build walls. Sometimes God shoots a customized arrow into our hearts to wake us up.”
While absorbing this declaration, I felt intense pain in my chest. With it came a sense that God had pierced my heart and said, “Your wall is keeping you at a distance from Me.”
The thought that I had hurt the heart of God became unbearable. I had no idea I’d built an emotional wall of protection around my heart.
As soon as the speaker finished, I hurried from the session to seek aloneness in my quiet hotel room. As I knelt and buried my head in my hands, tears seeped through my fingers.
“God, I didn’t know anything stood between You and me.”
He revealed I had constructed a wall out of my fear of what people would think about me. That wall had become my emotional protection. My wall also blocked me from absorbing the truth that God loves me, accepts me, protects me, and delights in me. I confessed my actions as sin against God. My sorrow lifted when I opened myself to receive His promised forgiveness.
During those moments of brokenness, the source of my fear became clear. I reached for my notebook to record my thoughts.
Soon I’d sketched the outline of a wall. In the empty boxes that formed the foundation, I added words that came to my mind: “childhood patterns,” “defense mechanisms,” and “family expectations.”
On each brick, I wrote an internal struggle that held me captive and governed my involuntary responses to people: fear of failure, fear of disappointing others, fear of not measuring up, need for approval, need for acceptance.
Author Paul Richardson explains more about our walls in his book A Certain Risk,
In response to our most unforgettable heartaches, many of us have closed ourselves off, locked our hearts behind unassailable walls, and
hidden away the key. . . .
He is showing me that the greatest barriers to his artistry in and through my life are not physical dangers. The real barriers are my own conjured fears. These fears are phony castle walls I’ve constructed around me.
During my conversation with God in my hotel room that day, I received courage to emotionally let the bricks of my castle walls crumble. Nothing stood between God and me anymore.
My unexpected breakthrough to the next level came through brokenness, just as the speaker explained. Once my wall was gone, I began relating to people in an open and authentic way without holding back from sharing about my personal life.
I'm looking forward to my continuing journey on God's path of freedom where I'm becoming more and more the person God designed me to be. **
Have you built an emotional wall of protection around yourself? What factors might have led you to construct your foundation and lay bricks on top? God is waiting to show you how to experience a life of freedom outside your wall.
* Link to Elizabeth Horbelt’s May 17 blog: "Designed for Breakthrough."
** Some of the content in this blog is adapted from pages 31-34 of my book, *Will the Real Person Please Stand Up: Rising Upon the Fear of Rejection,* and is used by permission.
Link to order your own copy.
Soaring Free
Many of you know that God placed a passion in my heart to grow in my new freedom and help others live in freedom too.
Here’s a powerful story from my study Bible that deepened my determination to keep soaring free! Perhaps you will be impacted as well.
“A farmer once found a baby eagle and raised it with his chickens. The eagle learned to live as the chickens did, never attempting to fly. When a bird-watcher saw the eagle, he bought it from the farmer and attempted to teach it to fly. But the eagle would only run around and flap its wings like a chicken. Finally, the man took the bird to a high mountain. ‘You are an eagle,’ he said. ‘You should fly.’ And he threw the bird off the side of the mountain. At first the eagle cried out in fear, but then it spread its wings and soared into the sky.
“Perhaps that eagle sometimes flew over the old farmyard and missed the chickens. But it never returned to live like them, because now it knew what it meant to be an eagle.
“In a similar way, many believers do not fully understand who they are in Christ. As a result, they miss the incredible blessings God has intended for His people. In a spiritual sense, they never learn to soar free above all creation.
“What would it be like to see ourselves as our loving Father sees us? God says, ‘Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We can see ourselves as God does by exercising our faith as we read the Bible, believing what it says about God and what it says about us.
“Isn’t it time to stop listening to what others say about [us] and start listening to God?” *
What thoughts ran through your mind as you read this narrative? I’d love to hear from you! Leave your comment below.
* Story taken from the Discover God Study Bible NLT, page 2094.
Copyright © 2000. Used by permission of Bright Media Foundation,
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