As many of you might know, I am a VERY sentimental person. I am a person who loves to reminisce of days gone by, and I hold onto practicially EVERYTHING that is of meaning- journals that are falling apart, every note I have ever received, any photo of a friend, numbers from every race I’ve run, and even a lily pad flower from a memorable hike. I also hold onto memories, be they good or bad. I hold onto specific dates and details of events that any normal human being would forget. And while looking back fondly on notes my friend Katie wrote me in junior high is harmless, dwelling on past memories and things I have been told that only hurt me is not beneficial!
Last night, I watched the movie “Up” with my good friend Melissa, and at one point the old man, Mr. Fredrickson, is faced with a dilemma. He needs to chase after the little boy, Russel, but his house is not light enough to float up into the sky and follow him. It is filled with tables, chairs, and many pictures and trinkets that remind him of his beloved wife. In his anger at the situation, he kicks a chair out the door, and when he does so, the house becomes a little lighter. He finally realizes the only way he can save Russel is to chuck everything out the door, everything that is part of his past.
After watching this, I too came to a realization. I will never be able to truly help others and focus on the here and now unless I chuck my burdens, my memories that are choking the life out of me, out the door. Then I will be truly free and able to take flight into the new adventures God has planned for me. As in the movie “Up,” I will be able to take flight and leave the place I’ve come to wallow in time and time again. True, I may miss those in my past. True, I may long for days of bliss that I never thought could be surpassed. BUT, there comes a time when moving on is key.
What is burdening you? What is filling up your house to keep you from truly experiencing life? What is holding you back from reaching out to someone in desperate need of attention and love? Is it your memories? Is there a past experience that is haunting you and sucking away your very life?
I know I am no expert on the matter, BELIEVE ME, but I encourage you to LET IT GO!!!! Take that heavy burden that is weighing you down and kick it with tremedendous force out of your house!!!
“FORGETTING WHAT IS BEHIND and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
-Philippians 3:13b-14
-Philippians 3:13b-14
“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
