Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of
witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily
entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us
- Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
Even though the weather hasn't exactly gotten the message that fall is coming, I took advantage of the long weekend to start pulling out my fall and winter clothes, which somehow turned into a complete closet cleanout. As I started going through things, I realized that a lot of my clothes simply don't fit anymore. After losing so much weight, that's certainly not a bad problem to have. But I'll admit, there were a few things that were hard to put in the donation pile. Some of my favorite cat shirts and sweaters had to go—including my beloved blouse with a cat version of Van Gogh's Starry Night. I love that blouse. But no matter how much I love it, I'm never going to be able to wear it again. So why am I carrying it into another season? And somewhere between the keep pile and the donation box, my closet started preaching.
Because maybe that's a question worth asking about more than clothes: What am I still carrying that doesn't belong in this season of my life? We go through our closets deciding what still fits and what doesn't. We pull things out, look at them, remember when we wore them, and decide whether they still have a place.
But we aren't always as willing to clean out the spiritual clutter. We keep carrying the horrible things a boss once said or did to us, we carry the lies that destroyed a friendship. We carry old disappointments, resentment, rejection, embarrassment and conversations that ended years ago but somehow keep replaying in our heads. Some of those things hurt deeply. Putting them down doesn't mean they weren't important. It doesn't mean what happened was okay. And it certainly doesn't mean we have to pretend we don't remember.
It simply means we don't have to keep carrying them.
Hebrews tells us to throw off everything that hinders us so we can run the race God has placed before us.
Maybe some things belonged to another season. Maybe they taught us something, maybe they changed us. Maybe there are even parts of that season we'll always remember. But that doesn't mean they still fit the life God is leading us into now.
There was nothing wrong with my Starry Night cat blouse. It just doesn't fit anymore. And maybe there's something you've been carrying that doesn't fit anymore either. An old hurt. Someone else's opinion of you. A mistake you've already asked God to forgive. A grudge you've gotten so accustomed to carrying that you've forgotten how heavy it is. A version of yourself that God has already helped you outgrow.
Maybe it's time to take it out, acknowledge what it meant, and finally say: I'm not carrying this into another season.
There is freedom in making room.
And just like that closet suddenly has space for the clothes that fit the person I am today, maybe our hearts need some empty space too—for what God is doing now and for whatever He has waiting in the season ahead.
#dailybreadbykitty
Daily Inspiration from the Bible
- Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
Even though the weather hasn't exactly gotten the message that fall is coming, I took advantage of the long weekend to start pulling out my fall and winter clothes, which somehow turned into a complete closet cleanout. As I started going through things, I realized that a lot of my clothes simply don't fit anymore. After losing so much weight, that's certainly not a bad problem to have. But I'll admit, there were a few things that were hard to put in the donation pile. Some of my favorite cat shirts and sweaters had to go—including my beloved blouse with a cat version of Van Gogh's Starry Night. I love that blouse. But no matter how much I love it, I'm never going to be able to wear it again. So why am I carrying it into another season? And somewhere between the keep pile and the donation box, my closet started preaching.
Because maybe that's a question worth asking about more than clothes: What am I still carrying that doesn't belong in this season of my life? We go through our closets deciding what still fits and what doesn't. We pull things out, look at them, remember when we wore them, and decide whether they still have a place.
But we aren't always as willing to clean out the spiritual clutter. We keep carrying the horrible things a boss once said or did to us, we carry the lies that destroyed a friendship. We carry old disappointments, resentment, rejection, embarrassment and conversations that ended years ago but somehow keep replaying in our heads. Some of those things hurt deeply. Putting them down doesn't mean they weren't important. It doesn't mean what happened was okay. And it certainly doesn't mean we have to pretend we don't remember.
It simply means we don't have to keep carrying them.
Hebrews tells us to throw off everything that hinders us so we can run the race God has placed before us.
Maybe some things belonged to another season. Maybe they taught us something, maybe they changed us. Maybe there are even parts of that season we'll always remember. But that doesn't mean they still fit the life God is leading us into now.
There was nothing wrong with my Starry Night cat blouse. It just doesn't fit anymore. And maybe there's something you've been carrying that doesn't fit anymore either. An old hurt. Someone else's opinion of you. A mistake you've already asked God to forgive. A grudge you've gotten so accustomed to carrying that you've forgotten how heavy it is. A version of yourself that God has already helped you outgrow.
Maybe it's time to take it out, acknowledge what it meant, and finally say: I'm not carrying this into another season.
There is freedom in making room.
And just like that closet suddenly has space for the clothes that fit the person I am today, maybe our hearts need some empty space too—for what God is doing now and for whatever He has waiting in the season ahead.
#dailybreadbykitty
Daily Inspiration from the Bible
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