Make Your Monday: Let Things Go!

Today's quote made perfect sense to me. As someone who makes things overly complicated sometimes, it's very helpful. Much like some advice I got from my counselor when my infants were tiny. I was struck by their helplessness and how I loved them so much it sometimes hurt. As I gazed at them through sleep-deprived, hormone-ravaged eyes, I found myself imagining how devastating it would be if something terrible befell them. 

These were sort of morbid thoughts to be thinking when you've just been given the marvelous gift of TWO new lives, but I tend to notice what I value and get miserly with it, frantically wondering how to protect it and me from disaster. As an over-achieving Christian, I thought truly trusting God meant that when I imagined this scenario, I'd still feel alright, knowing God would get me through it. You know, the peace that passes understanding bit and the martyrs who could sing in their persecution. But I did not feel alright. I ached. When I told my counselor, she said, "Kendra, you're never going to be okay with something bad happening to your children. I don't think you need to think about that. Just don't even go there. It's not useful." It's not useful. That stuck with me and has helped me cut some other things loose.

What are you holding onto that's putting a hitch in your giddy-up? Maybe today's the day to kick it down the hill. Or at least, begin. Things like deep hurts are a little more complex than saying, "I don't like how this grudge is affecting me. I'm going to stop it." Accept that deep pain merits thorough excavation and start in. In my experience forgiving my biological, abusive father, forgiveness was the pot of gold at the end of the healing-process-rainbow. Okay, so my metaphor falls short in that the healing process hardly feels like a rainbow sometimes, but once you get to the end, rainbows DO seem to shoot out everywhere. It's seriously different. Like you've never really been able to breathe deeply before. Probably because it's what we were made to do. Grudges are unnatural and life-sucking. Cut 'em loose!

I don't know who said this originally, but kuddos to you, Smart Man or Woman! If you'd like to enjoy their words on your computer, click the link below the photo to get a big file that won't stretch out like crazy to fit your screen. 

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Much love to you, brave ones! I believe in you.