It is for Freedom...

This morning, I fell on the snow and slush once again. This time, not in the privacy of my street, but mere steps from the Central Square T stop. The witness list easily doubled or tripled in magnitude. But, don't worry; in the words of George Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life), "I am oooookay. I am okay."

There are a good 6 inches of fresh snow on the ground and still falling fast.

I have struggled to blog as of late; not for lack of thoughts, but for too many thoughts and not enough time. Life has been busy. And I have hesitated to write without completely formed thoughts. But here it is anyhow...

I think my life-verse for this year is Galatians 5:1...

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

There are many things which can hold me captive, including but not limited to:

A tendency to compare myself to others, extremely high expectations (both my own and those of others), a skewed understanding of myself and lies that I've been told about myself, my history/past, feelings of failure, shame, and guilt, the "protective" walls that I have build to guard myself from hurt.... and many others.

Those chains are tight. They are hard to break. And I will fight against some of them until the day that I die. Some of them are so deeply wound that it will take years to even find their source. But here's the deal: I was not redeemed so as to continue as a slave to the things of old.

The Gospel, in Jesus' words (quoted from Isaiah):

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19)

What does that mean for me? I'm still trying to figure that out. What does it look like to leave behind the chains that bind me? To throw off everything that hinders? What does it mean to live as a child of freedom, a new creation? I'm not quite sure. But that's my life goal for this season... Lofty, yes. But, hopefully, one of freedom and deeper understanding of identity, the Gospel, and God's ceaseless, boundless well of grace for me and for you.

And, that's all for now. :-)