Liberation

It is the most liberating feeling to choose an stress-free life. To decide to live outside of the arbitrary pressures we so often self impose. For years I was confined by crippling anxiety; always lamenting over yesterday and dreading tomorrow. Looking back I could hardly tell you what I was always so worried about, but I'm sure it often revolved around striving for the things I wanted or being fearful of losing something I had.

Now, I'm not saying I never get bogged down by the pressure of life’s pace or that it doesn’t seem overwhelming at times. But what I noticed about so much of my anxiety in the past was that it was rooted in 1) Wanting what I didn’t have or 2) Coveting what I did have. And commonly, it wasn’t material things that I was reaching for, but internal status symbols like achievement, recognition, or other image-related tokens. And those too were things that were arbitrary! It’s hard to simply say that I’m letting this way of life go for me, that I’m done reaching for more without first resting in gratitude for all that I have already. The second I tap into the reality of what God has done for me first with the sacrificial death of his son Jesus, and then how that blood has covered me with grace so that I may live freely and unbound by the greatest anchor of all, sin. Once that sinks in for me, everything else I choose to let weigh me down entirely evaporates. It’s not that our problems don’t exist or our humanity doesn’t shine through with our anxieties at times, but the context of how much we’ve been given and what we have already dissipates the need to stress over striving and live life more peacefully and present.