Where Freedom is Found

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." Galatians 5:25

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In its spare time, my kitchen table likes to double as a desk. Currently upon it are the contents of my Saturday morning... my computer, several books ranging in size and content, a few notebooks and scattered pens, a freshly made Iced Cuban coffee, and my Bible.

I've prepared for this moment, since yesterday afternoon.

Our house is clean. The laundry is done and put away. An 'Evergreen' scented candle is burning, and Tim is traveling. Friends have been contacted, plans for later dates have been established... and right now, there is nothing vying for my time or attention, other than to sit here in my home and offer this morning to the Lord.

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One year ago, I was not so calm about mornings like these. I was going through a lot and was struggling hard with loneliness, misplacement, and fear... So as I sit here now at this kitchen table, I experience the difference. I feel the work the Lord has done in me this past year, and I can see it.  Although each day brings new growth, it is healing to look backwards every now and then and see a progress in faith... a progress in trust.

A progress to freedom.

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There is a dusting of snow out on our deck, and as I look out at it and the huge trees in our backyard, I am grateful for this house... our home. I receive a text message from a friend, and I am aware that I did not even know her one year ago; now my weeks are not complete without hearing from her.

The Lord's faithfulness envelops me on mornings like these, and I am at rest here. I am at rest here, because my sprit is free.

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In a culture dominated by speech without action, action without conscience, and conscience without Christ... we are not a free people, as we claim to be. Our healthy eating becomes an idol, our good habits become our passions, our Pinterest boards become the summation of our dreams, and our lives are largely lacking in freedom... I am speaking of myself, too. My days can become so petty and self-absorbed, my habits meaningless, my friendships shallow, and my marriage dry. The enemy prowls the earth like a lion, and my own home is not immune.

But this verse in Galatians 5 has begun to make such real sense to me, in the past 7-9 months or so. It has become a freedom cry, in both quiet moments and loud ones: "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."

I know in my heart, mind, and soul that I live by the Spirit - I am made alive by Him, my identity is confirmed in Him, and my existence is continued by Him. But oh, the opportunities that there are for me to walk by Him... to keep in step with His Spirit. No matter what else is going on, to find a way to keep in step with Him - and by doing so, live in freedom. Live in Christ. Live in peace. Live in abundance.

Sometimes this freedom looks as simple as my being comfortable where Christ has placed me, or being a good steward of my time. Often this freedom manifests itself in my ability to enjoy and relax in  loves He has given me... like the company of my husband or my family, or the joy of books, the art of writing, or the bliss of drinking coffee. But always, this freedom requires a larger death of me, underneath all of that. It requires a constant surrender of my pride, my selfishness, my self-sufficiency. This freedom can play out in large crowds or small ones, or with no crowd around at all. Keeping in step with the Spirit requires that I am conscious of His character, throughout my day - and that I am desiring and striving for my character to look exactly like it.

It is the costliest of freedoms. It is also the only freedom that is true.

This type of freedom cannot be purchased, Pinned, or acquired through Paleo. It can only be lived... and it can only be lived through Christ.

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My coffee is almost gone, the snow on the deck has begun to melt, and this Saturday morning has become a Saturday afternoon. As my mind begins to wander towards 'the next thing', I force a pause into this day that is not my own... a pause to write, to try and capture the meaning of all that's going on in one heart, sitting at one kitchen table, in a house covered with a dusting of snow.

There is freedom in doing what one is supposed to do... in being who one is supposed to be, in Christ.  I hope that you experience it today for yourself, in a way that is unique and dear to you and to the God who made you.

Happy Saturday, everyone.

Lauren