Missing the mark..or the torment?

You know what, what was the thing that I thought this morning? First.thing.in.the.morning? Barely up out of bed. It was about the one thing I did yesterday, or with me it’s usually the one thing I SAID, that was just a little…well…too much. Between me and the devil we are going to make sure that not one. single. missing-of-the-mark. goes by without tormenting me. Without making me think that it was worse than it was, and that even if it was horrible, that there is no forgiveness for it. That it will define me. That whenever anyone looks at me that is the first thing they are going to think about. Despite the fact that God has said not to worry for myself! That He is in charge of what other people think about me. And I have seen this in action too – God dealing with my sin, my reputation, or with the thoughts I have toward others, when God is dealing with me. Whenever I am sure something I have done defines me in other people’s minds, God shows me that it doesn’t. Sometimes He will show me that they still “like me” :-). That they don’t even remember, sometimes! Or that He has gone to the trouble to stand up for me, to redefine the moment or event in their mind, or possibly (like He does with me), He’ll show them that they are just as guilty, if not of that, then of other things. So… maybe today…I can just – let go of torment? Especially over the littler things. And just believe God. Revolutionary! And here’s a thought – if He can do it for the little things, He can do it for the big, too! 🙂

Tethered

Tethered. My heart felt tethered, tied down, like it just couldn’t forgive this one time. But I knew it shouldn’t be tethered, I should let it go. But again, did I really want to put my heart out there, at the risk of it being tossed around like a tetherball and being hit back and forth, struck again, blow by blow, beat up on? Then another thought struck me. My heart was already tethered, indeed. But it was tethered to something else, or rather to Someone – else. It was not tied down, it was tied TO… Christ, and He would want me to let it go, free, to put it out there. He has forgiven me, I absolutely must forgive others. That is what love does. That is what being faithful means. That is what growing into the image of our Lord and Savior means. Untethered. I am untethered. But tied to the one I love. My heart is safe in Him.