I love the 4th of July! Fireworks, BBQ’s, Celebrate America, Summer fun, Watermelon and family time! Every year though, God never fails to remind me about more than my nations freedom. He reminds me of the spiritual, emotional and mental freedom that He has given me. I’ve been blessed to experience immense freedom in my life. From depression, suicide ideation, self-harm addictions, alcoholism, medication dependency, eating disorder, self-hate, fear, anxiety, worthlessness and so. Much. More.
There are times when I look back and I am shocked about how different my life is from 5 years ago. A mere 5 years ago I was a mess, I was at my rock bottom and I had no hope of true freedom. A year later I was walking the halls of Mercy every day thanking the Lord for my freedom. Something people didn’t know then is that everything I felt rested on me in a physical way. It was something I didn’t even comprehend fully at the time. It wasn’t until the day I realized it had lifted and my soul, my heart, my chest felt light and free. I could tell that whatever had been tearing me down was gone that now my battle was cleaning up the remains of the war that had taken place within me.
At the time, the lightness was so foreign to me that my every thought was focused on thanking God. I never imagined being free from what I considered was a part of me. Go forward a couple years with this as my normal and I have forgotten that the lightness I feel today wasn’t always with me. I haven’t taken it for granted, but I forget how precious this freedom is to me. Now my gratitude isn’t just for freedom but the fact that it’s normal to me now.
So how did I get here? How can you find freedom in your own life?
That is the only answer I can give you. I tried the ways of the world and it led me into a darker hole. I tried counseling, journaling, therapy, finding new outlets, medication, everything short of a secular inpatient program. Those methods drained me until I had nothing left to try. And praise the Lord for that because it led me to Him! It led me to true freedom and true love. It wasn’t about learning what to do it was learning about what has already been won for me and taking claim of it. I didn’t spend a year reciting mantras I was attempting to believe but spent a year learning that I am loved, valued and declaring the truths that have been spoken over me by the Lord.
The Lord has already won the battle for us, we simply have to claim it. There are ties in our minds that make this difficult because the enemy doesn’t want us to believe we can be free. Sometimes the Lord will give us total freedom from something in a moment with no more lies to overcome. Sometimes, He makes it a process where we must make many daily choices and choose freedom over captivity. Sometimes it’s a mix. The spiritual stronghold is broken but the world still whispers in our ears.
At times, choosing freedom is going to be hard but it’s going to be worth it. Freedom doesn’t always make sense in the world. Choosing not to watch certain things because it can lead you down the wrong path can be hard when the whole world is talking about it. But making those small every day choices keep us on the freedom path.
If there is anything you are battling, freedom is possible, and it was made for you! Please let me know if I can be praying for freedom in your life in any way. You are loved, you are amazing, you can be free!
