Thursday, June 10, 2010

Nurse, Hold, Carry… and Release

Have you ever noticed the way we use the words grudge, problem, and burden? We nurse grudges, hold problems close, and carry burdens. Ever wonder why? I mean, doesn’t that seem a bit backwards? You would think that we would want to shun grudges, dismiss problems, and rid ourselves of burdens.

Okay, so it’s not that easy to let go of these things. It’s not so easy to release those things. And at other times I think we, myself included, are not even realizing that we are doing such things. Nursing a grudge, holding it close and nurturing it; I’ve been there and done that. It’s not easy to let those go, especially if it is something that has been nursed. Problems held close, repeated over and over in the mind and heart until they are overwhelmed and the problems are so bloated that they are completely out of perspective. Burdens are carried, moved with us from place to place. We get up and move and pick up our burden and carry it along with us.
Take a deep breath. No, really – a deep breath, way down in the bottom of your lungs. Then, hold it for a few moments, then relax and let it out. Feel the relaxing in your muscles as the air goes wooshing out, the pressure release? For me, that is a pleasant feeling. What if we let go of our grudges, problems, and burdens in the same way? Wooosh and we release it to God, who can carry our burdens and let us go on without having to carry all of that with us. What a release!

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