CHRISTMASTIDE Day 10: Leave it

Philippians 3:13-14

“Brothers and Sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Her most open time for conversation is when she is walking her dog. Her energetic, must have a walk to get out his energy or he’ll destroy the house, dog. This pup is sweet, loyal, loving and a bit insane. I get a glimpse into the neurosis of this animal each time I talk to my sister, when she his walking him, and we are on the phone. She lives in Seattle, is a busy working mom of 2 teenagers. There is a 2 hour time difference in our worlds so the windows of time when we can actually have a conversation feel small. This dog walking time seems to work best.

One of the fascinating traits of Toby, the crazy dog, is that his memory is short. Hmm… his memory is short or his ability to discern what is really bad for him, could actually kill him, is non existent. let me explan.

As my sister is walking her tornado on a leash pup ( I know, I’ve walked him) she is regularly repeating one simple phrase,

“Toby, leave it.”

TOBY.. leave it.

TOBY.

LEAVE.

IT.

This dog eats everything.

Every. dang. thing.

If she didn’t stop him from inhaling every loose item on their walk through their Seattle neighbor hood I believe he would wind up on the side of the road , stomach bloated from too much of too many bad things. He just cannot control himself. The first time I walked him my sister said – ” Don’t be afraid to be firm – he needs it.”

Sometimes I feel like Toby. I totally disregard the lack necessity of something in my life and just dive right in. I jump into traffic jams of life when I didn’t even need to be in my car in the first place. I continue habits and thought processes that do not line up with the plans and thoughts God has for and about me. As I charge into 2021 there are some things I really need to leave behind. I made a list – are you surprised?

Here are just a few that I’m willing to share:

Striving

Control ( of everything!)

Bitterness

Fear

Jealousy

Each of these have stories connected to them that don’t need to be shared here but between me and my God that is asking me to Leave them. He is the one that brought them to my attention and he is the one that regularly commands me to drop them – now. He knows what 2021 will bring and he knows what will not serve me well on the path he has marked out for my life.

What do you need to leave? What habit or thought needs to be dropped like a disgusting piece of garbage my sisters dog has found on the side of the road? The beautiful thing about leaving things, dropping them out of our arms and our lives…. is that it creates room to pick up what is really good, beautiful and powerful. More on that tomorrow.

Today I made my list of things I’ll drop as I re-enter 2021. There is room on the pile for yours…

and for this I rejoice.