Celebrating Freedom

I spent the first week of July on vacation with family. If you’ve never spent 4th of July in a small town in New England, you’re missing out. There is more old-fashioned Americana spirit there than anywhere I’ve ever been for the holiday. Everyone is decked out in red, white, and blue waving flags and cheering on the parade floats, marching bands, and Revolutionary War actors complete with muskets and cannons (yes, you read all of that correctly…). It made me think a lot about why we love celebrating this holiday so much. We make it all about decorating, hosting cookouts, and spending time with family and friends. It’s really a day to reflect on our freedoms.

Freedom {noun} the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint; the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved; the state of not being subject to or affected by (a particular undesirable thing)

I’m thankful for the freedoms I have in this country. Freedom of speech (even when someone doesn’t like what I have to say). Freedom to be whatever I want to be (even when people feel uncomfortable about it). Freedom to share my faith in public (even when others don’t share my same faith). Our freedoms are numerous here in the United States.

But sometimes we don’t feel free in our own lives. There are things that hold us back. We’re worried about what others will think of us. We’re worried about failing. We’re worried that we aren’t living into our callings or making the wrong career choices. We worry about our weight or how we look. We worry about disappointing others. We worry about disappointing ourselves.

When we worry about these things, it can paralyze us. We don’t feel free at all. We become enslaved to our own thoughts.

While we have freedom in this country, we don’t feel free in ourselves.

This month, as you continue to reflect on freedoms we have in this country, I want you to ask yourself: What do you need freedom from? What is holding you back from fully living into the person you were created to be?

Let’s be free.