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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Shaking Off the Shackles

I had lunch with a friend yesterday.  She works in another country so I don't get to see her that often.  We had some deep things to share with each other since it had been so long since we had talked.  She spoke of a crime that she had been the victim of many years earlier.  The perpetrator was recently apprehended and she was going to attend his trial.  But before the trial could occur, the man killed himself.


My friend said something that instantly sank into my spirit as a truth, a revelation.  She had spent many years, many hours imagining this man being led off in an orange jumpsuit and shackles.  Now she felt robbed of the satisfaction of seeing that image become reality.  I immediately wondered, how often do we do that.  When we have been wronged, hurt, ignored, abused...how much time do we give to thoughts of the perpetrator being stopped, shackled, bound up, led away.  Now don't get me wrong, bad people must be stopped.  But what my friend said next was what stopped me in my tracks and really connected with me.


Someone had told her, instead of spending time thinking about him being led away in shackles, why don't you think about yourself walking away from the situation completely unshackled.  That was very powerful life changing advice that was given to her.  To picture ourselves being set free from a painful situation, walking away, leaving the shackles that held us so tight, laying on the ground...what freedom...what joy!


In the Bible it says "Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that does so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; Hebrews  12:1-2.  What if that's true?  What if Jesus bore every weight, every shackle, every heavy thing that we ever tried to carry on our backs?  What if we can walk away unshackled, rejoicing, because it's no longer our burden to bear?


I would encourage you, friend, if you are walking around bearing the weight of something that someone else did to you, shackled and in bondage, you can be free of it!  You can loose those shackles and run away from darkness, away from gripping pain and towards freedom and healing!




I can tell that my friend took to heart the advice that she had been given.  I could sense that she was at peace with a situation that had been holding her back from complete wholeness.  She will always bear the emotional scars of what was done to her, but that's all they are now...scars.  Not gaping fresh wounds, but closed and healed.  The shackles are off and she is on her way to becoming whatever it is that she was meant to be!


From His lap,

12 comments:

  1. Inspiring post Thank you Annie

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  2. Thanks, Annie. I'm so happy for my friend that she was set free. What a lesson she taught me!

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  3. Beautiful post, Erin! I've been carrying around the weight of a wrong that was done to me in college for over 20 years. I need to let it go and walk away, too. Timely advice.
    Thanks,
    Nikki
    @Farmgirl_IN

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  4. Oh Nikki, that's so long to carry a burden. I'm so sorry...but now you know you can lay it down & pick up joy!!! There's such freedom in that!
    Blessings,
    Erin

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  5. Thank YOU!
    Take care,
    Lisa

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  6. I love this piece of advice. The imagery is very powerful, thank you. I will be thinking about this for a while now!

    So glad I found your blog. I'm found you on Voiceboks and now am a very grateful follower! Have a great day.

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  7. great post! Thanks for sharing! I found you at voiceboks! I love your blog! I am your newest follower and would love it if you would check out my blog and follow me too! Thanks!
    -Nikki
    http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/

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  8. Very powerful thought. I am visiting from Voiceboks. And I am following you now. check me out at www.realarmyofmoms.com

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  9. hi,i really love your blog! im a new follwer from voiceboks. would love if you would check out my blog and follow too if you like.

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  10. Thanks for posting this, Erin. You did a great job of summarizing it and creating a vivid picture. It is a blessing to see how God is using this situation and practical advice to heal others.

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  11. I'm going through your last posts in my feed and this was a wonderful visualization, Erin! Thanks!

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  12. You're welcome, Sandy. It was so wonderful to see my friend being set free of something that had held her captive for so long!
    Blessings,
    ~Erin

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Thank you for giving us a little nugget of truth from your heart!

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