This morning I got back to a place that I have not been for a while. I write and post often about waking up before your kids to have time just for yourself. I do this everyday, but a lot of days I get in to this transactional mode of getting house chores done, sorting email, and writing lists. Those things are all great, but I wanted to get back to the place of focusing on myself, and filling myself up before I dive into all of the things. So today went differently.
I started by writing down all of the things I am happy and grateful for in the present moment and in my future. You see, it's important to picture what you want, imagine it done, and then give gratitude for that thing. Ryan and I have lists of things we have been thankful for that are now a reality. I always write this list while listening to my favorite worship music.
Next, I wrote down all of the things I am. Once again, coming from a place in the future. Who am I? Who do I want to become? What potential lies within me that I have not yet tapped into? Did you know that God created you in His image? Take a moment to think about that. You were created for a specific purpose and you have everything inside of you that you need to fulfill your God given potential. To share... some things on my list are... I am confidant, smart, strong, powerful, a great teacher and leader, and I never settle or give up. I don't believe that God created us to be fearful and worry and settle for the safe and known outcome.
After I wrote that all out, I prayed. To be totally transparent, this is something I don't do often enough. I talk to God all day long I feel like. If he is omnipresent (everywhere) then he's with me all day right? He knows what's going on. However, it's not that God needs me to pause and talk to him. It's not like I'm debriefing him on my life, he knows it... I need to talk to him. So today I did that. I paused for a good 10-15 minutes and sat with the Lord and got very honest and real. Like I said, he already knows ALL things, this was for me, I had to get honest with him and honest with myself.
While I was praying, the word shackles came to mind. I asked God to remove my shackles, they were not put there by him anyway, he would never do that. This got me thinking, we all have something that shackles us. When we are shackled, we cannot fulfill our dreams and potential. The term "shackled" means to limit and restrain. So what are your shackles? Here are some of mine...
Doubt, Worry, Fear, Restlessness, Anger and Annoyance, Control...
Look over that list, how in the world am I going to make the impact I desire or help the people I want to help if I don't remove those shackles from myself. As I was praying this morning, I asked God to remove these shackles from me and fill up my soul that has felt drained. So I want to challenge you to get really quiet, be still, and talk to the Lord. You may not be a believer or walk with God, but I still challenge you to do this and think about what shackles you would love to have unlocked, you may not even realize you are wearing them.
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