Dear Friend,
You’ve been hauling three things around in your purse that weigh you down and make you feel burdened, depressed and desperate. Take a moment to sort though all that stuff you haul around and determine what you really need.
I’m not talking about the lipstick, your kid’s dirty sock, the extra toothbrush or the book you think you might get around to reading pretty soon. No, I’m talking about the invisible purse that no one sees (even though you may feel like people judge the style and content of your invisible purse, it really is invisible).
No matter how heavy our real purses may become, they feel like a pile of feathers in comparison to what we haul in our invisible purses. Those invisible purses can take on a life of their own and create within us a feeling of dread—as if a mad puppeteer controls our actions, mouths and emotions.
Sort through your invisible purse, my friend, and take out these three things:
1. Your little black book. That ever-growing list of things people have done to wrong you needs to go. It weighs you down and makes their problem become your problem. God didn’t create us to live a life overshadowed by what other people have done to us. Instead, willingly forgive those who sin against you, because there’s something about forgiving that unburdens us and allows us to take part in God’s great plan of forgiveness (Matthew 6:15)
2. DVDs of things you regret doing in the past. You know what I’m talking about. The mind movies that trap you into self-hate over past actions. Write the synopsis of the movie on a piece of paper and commit it to the care of the Great Librarian. He has a shelf labeled “Out of Circulation” where, over time, he rewrites the movies into something beautiful. It takes time, and each time those old DVDs beckon you, remember they’re out of circulation. He forgives you for those past actions and he wants you to forgive yourself, too. Playing those movies over and over again just leads to depression. “There’s nothing done or said that can’t be forgiven.” Matthew 12:31
3. Your planner. Trying to plan out your entire life (and perhaps the lives of those you love) will only lead to desperate actions on your part as you try to manipulate the future while the present fails to pan out. Instead, “Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (MSG). As you learn to lean in and listen, you’ll discover your desperation peeling away layer by layer.
If you’re at all like me, you’ll need to purge your purse on a regular basis. It takes discipline and practice to keep my invisible purse filled with positive things. Click To Tweet. But it’s always worth the effort.
My prayer for you comes from Romans 15:13 in the Message: “May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope.”
I’m linking up with Holley Gerth today at Coffee for Your Heart. If you’ve never visited Holley page or seen her books (the latest is You’re Loved No Matter What: Freeing Your Heart from the Need to Be Perfect, take some time today to stop by and discover a wealth of encouragement.
