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FAITH

Freedom

By: Mary Ellen Collins

F-R-E-E-D-O-M!

I am so happy with myself. I am capable. I am competent. I did something yesterday that I had wanted to do for a long time. Woohoo!

So why was I so afraid to get on an adult Trike? After all, it is nothing but an inflated version of a child’s tricycle. Was it fear? Was it pride? Would I look stupid? I hear my inner self say, “What makes you think you can balance yourself? After all you do have a chronic balance problem.”  “You might fall and hurt yourself.”  My inner voice also reminds me, “You are still healing from cancer surgery only 7 months ago.You might hurt yourself.”  A litany of questions competed for attention as to why I should not even try this. “You better play it safe. Just look and one of these days . . .”

Every year we visit Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. If you have ever been there, you know this is a bicyclist’s paradise. Paths weave through the interior of the island and along the ocean front. They have been calling me to come explore for many years but I have not had the courage.

What was stopping me?

I went through all of my lame reasons, and I finally landed on the real underlying reason. Not balance.“You have 3 wheels not 2. You can do this.” I am just healing from cancer surgery. “It’s been 7 months. You can do this.” Not fear of hurting myself. You will look stupid. “Who cares?” Ah, that was the real reason.

PRIDE was standing in my way from trying. I have always been told that God hates PRIDE. Satan loves PRIDE. He uses it on us all of the time. It is not my skills or ability. It is not my balance. It is not healing from cancer. It is between my ears. It is all in my mind. “You will look stupid.”

Mustering up all my courage, I DID IT!  I rode an adult TRIKE. My ONE WORD challenge for 2017 is TRANSPARENCY so here’s the proof.

What lessons did I learn and how does it relate to other things in my life? How many times has pride been an obstacle keeping me from doing things? Taking a class, working on healing, going to a counselor. I cannot count the number of times Satan has won. How has Pride stood in your way and what lessons have you learned?

PRIDE is debilitating. PRIDE will keep me stuck. PRIDE is nothing but my ego standing in my way. PRIDE worries about what other’s think. PRIDE holds us back. PRIDE keeps us from receiving all that God has for us.

I choose F-R-E-E-D-O-M!

 

2 replies on “Freedom”

Good for you!! You look adorable and I bet you really enjoyed yourself! When I worry about what other people will think, I reason it out by saying to myself, “These are people who don’t even know you and that you’ll never see again so who cares!”

Thanks. I don’t think I have ever been told I look adorable. It is just so interesting how pride sneaks in to our thinking and we just are not aware of it. How many times? How many times?

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