Locked Up Liberty

    “When you don’t know what to do; you do what you know.” Pastor Jeana Gilligan. Over the unfolding of our lives we have caught and taught life knowledge through the unveiling of our experiences. I challenge us to stop behaving instinctively and, start being intentional. We have to consciously choose the wisdom we have been taught; rather than fall subject to the effortlessly drawing nature of our heart’s desires. Famously stated, it took forty years to get Egypt out of the children of Israel. But, how long did it take Egypt to get into them? 

     Similar to the Israelites; we have more years in bondage than out of bondage. Being a slave is more familiar than walking in liberty. Using unhealthy coping strategies more readily available to provide an appearance of temporary relief opposed to reliance on the Holy Spirit based on our compulsions. We are the sum total of our experiences. Some were deliberately taught to us. We were taught the golden rule, we were taught to trust GOD. We were taught to be responsible, take care of ourselves with chores by our parents. We caught their coping behaviors for pain and stress. Our influencers did not intend for us to catch these patterns of dysfunction. 

     I am certain I have caught way more than my mother intended for me to catch in my developmental years. Each day is a journey to self discovery. These days of isolation force us to evaluate the pages of our lives. Some of us may become uncomfortable with the words on the page. The illustration of our yesterdays captioning a pain we have been avoiding. This is the time we have to choose to lean into our taught lessons. Fighting the temptation to appease the desires for self destructive decisions. Greater is HE that is in us, than drinking the pain away, eating the pain away, fighting the pain away, yelling the pain away, smoking the pain away, or any other pain of this world. This is true against that pain gnawing at something deep inside in the shadow of hurt not yet healed. The Truth does not change, and the Truth we know will set us free. What you know; good?

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