Do you have that thing that grabs at you like a thread to be pulled, and suddenly your time runs like quicksand; hours have been lost; you feel angry and defeated, and you wondered how you got there? For some it is reruns of the OC, others, your FB feed or Pinterest, yet others, cleaning compulsively or getting lost under the covers because you just can’t put down that teen novel {guilty}. And then there are the gamers. While I would not consider myself a gamer, as this is a category all its own; it is an alternate universe out there. And while for me it was only a brief and destructive stint with Spider Solitaire, I cannot say that many things have had the power to suck my time and confidence, steal my self-control, tap into my competitive drive, and waste my life like that silly game. I had to uninstall it on 2 computers. I even found it on the internet once then had to block it.
It is a shameful and ridiculous confession…it seems. But you know, sometimes there are things that at the outset seem silly, seem innocuous, seem impotent… and yet they enslave us in a bondage that is quiet and destructive because of that very same fact. I feel ridiculous confessing that an online card game that only rewards me with a simulated fireworks display could somehow undermine my self-worth, make me believe that I am lazy and cause me to lose sleep and become irritable. But the fact is, when I speak it out loud, it somehow loses its power. It gets the laugh it deserves, the ax it needs, and the shackles are broken.
What is a simple thing, that seems shameful it is so ridiculous, that is keeping you from life? The thing that needs to be spoken aloud to a safe person in your life? What is that thing that you need to blow up, cut off, destroy, by a few words said aloud? Confession is not a harsh, dogmatic command from a religious authority. It is an invitation from a loving and gracious God who can empathize with us in every way {Hebrews 4:15}
Confession is a freedom thing.
And then it is a doing thing.
{More on that tomorrow…}
THE TETHERING PLACE 