Happy New Year

I was reminded recently of how slaves in the state of Texas didn't know they had been freed until two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed. It is thought to be the fault of the slave owners. I suppose they thought if they kept their mouths shut, life would go on the way they were used to.

How often do we forget we have been freed spiritually? Do we live like we are freed or do we put ourselves in safe boxes where we behave and do only the things that are expected of us? Do we put limitations on our abilities because we do not claim ownership of our freedom?

I think that I am guilty of this. For the longest time, especially while growing up, I tried to hide my love of writing because I felt shame that I couldn't really write. In my world there was scoffing  toward people that loved the arts in general, so admitting that I was one of those who had fluffy dreams of making a living writing best sellers was ludicrous. And it worked too. I hid my writing till about the age of 30 and thus, no best sellers. Ha!

I live like a slave to my own ideas and failures when I don't get up and try again. Being comfortable and settling into habits of defeat such as 'having a big mouth and talking too much' or 'gaining and losing the same twenty pounds year after year' is just a box I put myself in.

 I ask myself, "Have you heard? You've been freed! You no longer have to live like a slave to those things." 

If I live like I am freed, there is no shame for my talents, my size, my failures, or accomplishments.  

In this New Year, give up all those comfortable boxes of only doing what others or yourself thinks you can accomplish. With God all things are possible. You will never know your true potential until you let go of what you think is expected of you and find out what God thinks you are capable of being... doing...and accomplishing.