Today’s reflection in Pauses for Lent is about freedom.

Though I feel a tad unqualified to write on this, there is one aspect of freedom I do know about: freedom from fear.

There are two freedoms in this life: spiritual and tangible.

The spiritual freedom causes tangible freedom for sure; when I’m not bound by shame or guilt I am a better mom/wife/friend/etc; and when I’m not bound by regret or fear, I make better life choices. In my general life observations and experiences, fear is the number one inhibitor of freedom, both in the spiritual realm and the physical/tangible one.

I used to be afraid of driveways. Sounds strange, I know. But it's true, I was. Because I grew up in apartment complexes, and so when I had to start living in a house and parking in a driveway in my 20s, I was paralyzed with fear. Does my car go here or there? Am I going to hit the other car? What if I scrape it on the side of the garage? What if/what if/what if…

What if I fail? keeps us from the freedom of trying something new, something brave, something adventurous.
What if it doesn’t work? keeps us from the freedom of being creative in our work, in our parenting, in our relationships.
What if she gets mad? keeps us from the freedom of sharing our deepest needs with those closest to us.
What if it falls flat? keeps us from the freedom of saying or doing something that will bring joy and laughter.
What if it doesn’t grow? keeps us from the freedom of having our own garden.
What if it crashes? keeps us from the freedom of commercial flights that take us across the world.
What if I can’t find the bathroom? keeps us from the freedom of visiting somewhere new, especially if we have, um, frequent bathroom needs.
What if I can’t eat anything? keeps those of us with food allergies from the freedom of social gatherings.

Those What ifs are limiting. They keep us from abundance, from life, from adventure, fun & fulfillment. They keep us from the highest freedom available on earth and in heaven, which is a life with Jesus by our side. If Jesus is walking with us, there’s no way we sit in that What if…

Without freedom from fear, I wouldn’t have lived in Japan by myself. This photo is from Christmas Day 2009 when @endlessfireinside traveled allllll the way over from OH to Japan for 7 days, just to experience the fun of life with me. But when he went back home I was back on my own, for 2.5 more months, in a foreign country, riding bikes (and knocking over stacks of them). Without freedom from fear, I wouldn’t have traveled all over the place by train. I wouldn't have climbed a mountain, tried eel (DELICIOUS, by the way), or pounded mochi (also delicious).

That’s what freedom from fear does: it moves you from the driveway to the other side of the globe. And freedom from fear is the best kind of freedom that faith offers.

Jesus himself IS freedom.
He himself IS courage, love, and progress.
He turned this world upside down in the best way, and in doing so, he set us free. For eternity. Not just for today and tomorrow, not only until the next What if… shows up, not only until the next temptation rears its head.

Forever.

So for the spiritual freedom we so desperately seek—that soul-level freedom that inhibits us in nothing—we walk to the cross. We lay our burdens down and we say, “Jesus, I am afraid but I want to be free. Help me here. Walk with me here,” and then we watch as God does his wonderful work in us.

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May you walk in total freedom from fear today, tomorrow, and forever. May you remember that Jesus himself is freedom, and he’s ready & waiting to offer it to you. And may you experience the total transformation that moves you out of fear of the unknown into the freedom of Christ.

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