“…for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.” (2 Peter 2:19b)
I just had a curious thought. I was reading through the book of Galatians where Paul is chastising the recipients of the letter for falling back into the old ways of the law, rather than the freedom we find in Christ – and becoming enslaved by the law.
It suddenly struck me that I often consider myself “enslaved” by my challenges. I focus on the “I can’t” so much more than the “I can still … (fill in the blank).
I once read the phrase, “If you can read this book, there is more right with you than there is wrong.” That phrase came echoing back to me.
I DO focus more on the things I can’t do than the things I can. I have, for the most part, allowed my challenges to “enslave” me.
“But you don’t understand,” you might be saying. “You don’t know what it is like to be me!”
Now, that is true. I don’t know. But I do know being homebound, having lost my job, watching my body deteriorate, having life-threatening allergies, and a host of other challenges. I have allowed those to dominate my life.
I no longer choose to do that. I am making a list of the things I can still do – from the most obscure details – (I can still breathe. I can still move. I can still partially see. I can type. I can make friends online.) – down to the specifics about me. I can still write. I can still draw – maybe not as well, but I can still do it. I can still think! And the list goes on and on.
Oh yes, I have chronic challenges that have changed my life, but I am going to refuse to allow them to enslave me again. There is still too much I am able to do if I look deeply enough, if I look at the right places.
Beloved readers, won’t you join me today? Stop looking at the “I can’t” in your life and begin to dig out the “I can still do ……” It might change the way you look at everything!
It did for me.
About the author:
deni believes that the only true way to deal with chronic pain and chronic illness is to bring them to the feet of her Lord and Savior. Her multiple challenges (Ankylosing Spondylitis, Porphyria, Celiac Sprue, and Atrial Fibrillation to name a few) have taught her many things about herself and her Christian walk. It is her fondest desire that her lessons may be helpful to others as they walk the path of chronic health challenges. She can be reached at EncouragingWords@me.com. Her website is http://www.pathwaysforchange.com/Encouragement.
