loosely held...

It really is pretty silly how worked up we (women and men) get about some things in this life - particularly our kids (and their choices), our careers, our finances, how we believe others perceive us, etc.   Take me for example. Last week there was one day that I just could NOT get my son to focus on his homework and I got ridiculously worked up. In my emotionally agitated state I started to worry not just about that particular homework assignment but all the future homework assignments and his future, in general. I globalized the problems of those moments to his entire future. No wonder the night was so hard and the assignment not getting done! That's a lot of pressure not only on my little boy but on me, as well!

Sometimes we think these 'emotional outbursts' are reserved for women but even if men present their emotions differently, they can get pretty worked up over issues with money, success, or respect, too.

In the moments that we are so incredibly worked up over these issues, the best thing we can do is to step back and remember that none of it belongs to us. It is all on loan from God. Everything we have in this life - our homes, our jobs, our bank account, our spouse, our kids - all of it is God's, not ours. We might be stewards of it, but in the end, it is God's name in the "owner" blank on the contract.

Remembering to hold the things of this life loosely is a good start to following God's will over our own. If we recognize whatever or whomever we are trying to control doesn't belong to us, we don't have to force our agenda anymore because we can recognize that God probably has a better plan than we do.

If we can practice loosely holding the gifts that God has put into our lives during the easy times, it will be a lot easier to get through the troubled times.

Trouble will come...no doubt about that. Jesus himself tells the disciples at the end of the 16th chapter of the Book of John, "...in this life you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!"

Jesus isn't saying that we are going to coast through the trouble when it comes. He is telling us that when trouble comes to look for where he (God) is at work in it and through it. We are to hold the things of this life loosely because it allows room for God to work in and through us and the situations in which we find ourselves.

Hanging on too tightly to anything is a good way to choke the life out of something or someone. Whether it is controlling our kids' choices, refusing to share what we have with others, or putting too much stock in other humans' opinions of us (rather than God's) hanging on to the things of this world with a death grip will only lead to more sorrow. If we want to experience the true joy that God has for us in this life, we need to live life with a loose grip.

Chesney Szaniszlo

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. - Matthew 6:21