A New Adventure

      Finally, after all those bitter winter months, it is the beginning of Spring... and it has snowed.  Oh well, at least the first day of Spring was warm and Springy!  I am so excited about Spring, it's my favorite time of year... well, at least until allergy season arrives, but none of us want to think about that, do we?  I am making garden plans, playing with the four goat kids, studying, writing lots, and thinking even more.
      Spring is such a bright, happy time of year, when all things seem newer, and better than ever before.  Spring is a good time for me to reflect, and think about where I am headed in my life, where I want to go, and where my Heavenly Father wants me to go.  It can also be a restless time, when I just want to make up my mind, so I can plan out my entire life one minute, and then I want to leave the whole an open blank page the next... a blank page waiting to be filled with adventures!  Did I mention I love adventures?
      Sometimes though I feel kind of trapped, held down by my past sins and former habits, so that I can't move on, and do what Jesus wants me to do.  I felt that way recently, when I read something which helped me to believe that the trap I illusioned, was an illusion.  I am not being held down by past mistakes, because their ties no longer have any hold on me.
      For sin shall not have dominion over (me) : for (I am) not under the law, 
but under grace. Romans 6:14 
      (I am) a new creature: old things have passed away; behold all things are become new.  
2 Corinthians 5:17
      As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed (my) transgressions from (me.) 
Psalm 103:12
      Do you know how far the east is from the west?

How far is the east from the west?
'Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been,
rising up in me again.
In the arms of your mercy I've found grace,
'cause you know just how far the east is from the west,
from one scarred hand to the other.
- Casting Crowns

      No matter how far I walk east, I will never reach the west.  My old ways and habits have passed away, and sin no longer has dominion over me.  I can choose to be a new creature this new Spring season, and make the old part of the past winter.  With God's help I can make new choices, build new habits, and make Him, (not myself) the center of my life.
      It isn't that our sins are holding us back, it's that we are holding on to our sins!  We feel so safe in our past, comfortable because we know what to expect, but if we never leave we will never fully realize our true God-given potential.  If we never travel forward, into the dangerous unknown road called "change" then we will never know what we're missing.  We'll be standing still, gazing down the road, while life passes us by, wishing we can follow, and see what lies ahead.  There are no chains that can bind us, so what are we waiting for? 
      Life is an adventure, and a ride we don't want to miss.  I am going to try and let go this Spring, and see what God has in store for those who are brave enough to change.  I'm going on an adventure!
 

- What about you? 

 - Are you holding yourself back? 

Share your thoughts below