Constraining our Freedom

It always amuses me how God uses so many different ways to get a message through to me. Sometimes he practically shouts. I like those times – they’re so much easier to hear than the still small voice.

This week’s theme has been this: in order to get what you really want, you have to give up whatever is getting in the way. If I want to stay healthy, I have to sacrifice my gluttony and laziness. If I want to love my wife more, I have to love myself less. If I want to know God and his word better, I have to sacrifice time elsewhere to spend with him. The list could go on, but the point is made.

None of us can have our cake and eat it too. Just like I can’t serve God and Money, I can’t love health and Oatmeal Cream Pies. I have to choose what is most important, and pursue it. Sacrificing what I like for what I need, oddly enough, does not come naturally. And I’m just beginning to realize how much practice I need.

What about you? Your family? Your homeschool? Are there goals you have not been able to reach because another desire is getting in the way?  What things in your life need to be uprooted so something better can bloom in that space?