Breaking Out-by Heidi McLaughlin
Posted: July 11, 2021
People are breaking out of their confined Covid spaces and it’s sheer, delicious craziness. My first international flight after a year and a half was a mixture of absolute delight and madness. When I flew to visit my daughter Michelle’s family at Easter, I was the only person going through security. This time, in the Kelowna airport the line-up for security went all the way back to Baggage Claim. Physical distancing at the Seattle airport was out of the window, and Starbucks line-ups made it impossible to grab a cup before the boarding gate closed.
In the normal quiet, laid back mentally of Montana, the hidden jewel of the Northwest, we couldn’t get a dinner or National Park reservation. Coffee shop line-ups are out the door and kayak rentals are almost non-existent. All this to say that people are bursting out of their homes to once again experience all the wonders that life has to offer. We’re surrounded by the goodness of God, and everyone wants to taste and smell everything.
Refresh the senses and once again feel alive and engage with life.
We’re not meant to be confined, locked up and disconnected from our loved ones. For the first time in close to two years I was able to physically hug both my children, and some of my grandchildren. Like hanging onto a life preserver, we clung to each other with thankfulness and joy.
I felt whole again.
Covid has impacted people in different ways, and new habits have been formed. Some good and some quite harmful. For some people fear has created self-imposed boundaries and their own prisons that are still keeping them locked up and not able to enjoy the abundant life that Jesus died to give us. Not the fear of masks or physical distancing, but the constant fear of the unknown, the “what if’s”, and the worry of things we cannot control. The Bible tells us: “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).
Today has enough troubles of its own.
Which fear are you embracing? The kind that is meant to protect us from harm, like looking both ways before we cross the street, or the insidious fear Satan uses to stop us from entering into God’s goodness? Sometimes they look the same and we need Holy Spirit wisdom and discernment to break through the barriers that are still keeping us locked up. Physically, emotionally and spiritually.
I encourage you to break out of whatever is holding you back from enjoying God’s abundant life. Listen to the birds, smell the trees after the rain, sniff that coffee in the line-ups and just laugh out loud. Get in line to enjoy the delicious freedom of breaking out and breaking free.
One response to “Breaking Out-by Heidi McLaughlin”
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Refreshing! I am so glad you are able to enjoy this happy time with your children.