Learning to Let Go One Step at a Time
Today I wanted to talk about a subject that affects women around the world. The subject is attachment. Attachment is an emotional bond to a thing, place or person. I've personally experienced all kinds of attachments. I remember being attached to my little doll when I was four. I remember being in love with a cartoon character only to find out he wasn’t real. How disappointing! Yet as a grown woman today I realize I'm still so prone to getting attached to things (sometimes almost everything specially at the mall) and people. Yet in all seriousness I believe sometimes in life we can get caught up in toxic and sinful attachments. The attachment to a habit that we just can’t break, maybe the attachment to clothes we don't wear or habits we can't break.
We can all identify with one. Some women love food so much they cannot control what and how much they eat, others love their phone more than they love their families (or so it may seem). My challenge for you today is to learn the steps you need to let go and break the chains of toxic bonding, no matter its nature.
First of all , realize that you have the gift of will.
Sometimes we can be fooled by Satan into thinking that we have no say in our emotions, no say in our weaknesses and no say in our destiny. That is such a big fat lie! God gave us an amazing gift called will.
You can use your will for simple tasks and begin to train your body to deny itself. Start with baby steps. For example instead of focusing on how much soda you shouln't drink. Decide to carry a bottle of water with you all the time, you chose a healthy habit, now stick with it. This doesn’t mean you won’t drink soda anymore, it only means you’ll crave it less because you’re keeping yourself hydrated.
The same rule can be applied to our spiritual life. Often we hold on to the wrongs things and can’t seem to move on simply because we have nothing else without them. We are running on empty and are not spiritually hydrated. So take a baby step, don’t focus so much on how far you can stay away from sin, rather focus on taking steps closer to God. You can start by reading one bible verse as soon as you wake up. Maybe right before you go to bed. It can even be a prayer while you drive to work. The more hydrated you are the less you will thirst for those toxic habits in your life. It won’t be an overnight thing, but it will bring a new perspective to life on a daily basis.
Use the power of will for your benefit. Learn to say yes to healthy friendships. If you’re trying to get out of a toxic relationship, surround yourself with healthy friends that will support you through the transition. You can’t have a strong will until you use it and exercise it and build endurance. Work out your will, not focusing so much on the big No's but rather focusing on the Yes. Say yes to godly friendships, say yes to prayer, say yes to church and yes to humility. Learn to care for others and take those baby steps to train your will to do the right things. Soon you will be surprised to see how much victories you’ve had, how many chains you’ve broken and how many habits and toxic relationships you’ve ended, simply by spending more time being who you where intended to be, a woman with a will.
