graphic: Martha G. Brady
What does it mean to be free?
Am I truly free to do whatever I want
Whenever I want to do it?
In our young years, that was our dream
That we would be able to no longer have to go to school.
That we would be married and able to do what we wanted.
It is laughable from my perspective now.
From the very beginning of our “freedom”
We discovered that we had all kinds of limitations.
From the very beginning of our freedom we discovered we had all kinds of limitations. Share on X
Money often limited our freedom.
So did our jobs.
We needed to be doing them for an incredible number of hours!
It tended to cramp our style in terms of freedom…
But without a job we had less money and even less freedom.
Then there were things we wanted to do
That we couldn’t always do on the timetable we wanted.
One of those for us was to have a child. stop
From our first pregnancy until our first healthy child
Was born, more than 2 years passed.
I’m sure you have your own examples of ways your freedom was limited.
Yes, the choices we made that often limited our freedom the most,
Were the most valuable.
Having children taught us to sacrifice our lives for someone else…
Losing sleep, taking them to lessons, helping with homework,
Praying for them as we watched them grow into very unique individuals,
Waiting for them to come in after dates,
Watching them grow into adulthood and now,
Parenting their own children.
The years they were home were busy, and we were more full of energy.
It seemed there were always deadlines and needs.
It was impossible to meet all the demands on us.
But it was also fun as well.
We learned that freedom is rarely what it seems.
Freedom often carries its limitations
On what seems to be a “free” life.
Later, it turns out the bondage we took on
Allowed us the freedom to love and serve others
In ways that taught us what true freedom really was.
It turns out the bondage we took on gave us the freedom to love/serve others & taught us what true freedom really was. Share on XC. S. Lewis said it well.
Learning to adore and obey our Creator
Teaches us true freedom
Doesn’t it?
“You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your strength and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself.”
Luke 10:27
Freedom with responsibility; responsibility with freedom — two thoughts to spend time with. Thank you for sharing this with us. And for reminding me of the CS Lewis quote.
In my situation, caring for my husband who has Alzheimer’s, I find myself sometimes fighting for freedom and resenting responsibilities then overcome with guilt. Not a pleasant combination to maneuver. But each time it forces me to think of others who have it so much much worse and then be thankful. Nancy Broz
i’m glad you stopped by nancy:) i hadn’t heard that CS Lewis quote before. i felt i needed a good quote to tie things together and found that one. i love it!
that feeling that true freedom is possible is a bit of an illusion isn’t it? that cycle is a tough one for sure. the important thing is that you continue to care for your husband despite the desire at times for “freedom.”
the Enemy loves to torment us that we aren’t doing enough or our motives are wrong or whatever it is that he can torment us about. there is often truth in what he says, but the lie is that all of that has been forgiven. Jesus paid it all! I can agree with what he says about my attitude or whatever, then go to Jesus and ask for forgiveness, realizing He loves me dearly and has already forgiven me!
that is encouraging.
wow. this post got me thinking. I’m going to write down a couple quotes to remember. Thank you so much for writing on the topic (and writing past five minutes to give us the full tale !)
thanks Janel. i’m glad it was helpful. blessings:)
So true! There is freedom, but there is also responsibility. It’s been such a long learning process for me, but the freedom found in God’s grace is so far beyond anything I could have created for myself. And while I used to think faith involved a bunch of exacting rules, now I truly do feel blessed to be able to follow God because it sets me free of the world’s chains in some very important ways.
i’m with you there amy. i got so worn down by the rules and my inability to keep them perfectly:( realizing that Jesus is the One who kept them perfectly for me is where my hope lies. What a relief!
This post is a really good reminder of what should be important to us. I particularly liked your line ‘Yes, the choices we made that often limited our freedom the most, Were the most valuable.’ Thank you for sharing this 🙂
thanks for stopping by gwen:) i appreciate your comment.
a beautiful post, and I love the CS Lewis quote! Thanks!
glad you enjoyed it leah:)
I love pondering over these things you have shared. Such good reminders about the price of freedom and how freedom has limits too. We all need reminders of that. The youth and my generation need the wisdom of your generation. Sometimes I remember and sometimes I need a reminder like this one.
nice to see you jamie:) it’s interesting as i watch history repeating itself over and over. sadly, many in the news media and even in the senate and house don’t seem to have heard of many of the events that have happened in my life time! i hope we don’t have to be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past, but it could easily happen. may GOD have mercy on all of us!
Freedom can be frightening because it means we have to be responsible! 🙂 I love the quote from Mr. Lewis. That reminds me of the 1st catechism… The purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. John Piper talks about that with his definition of Christian hedonism, that freedom comes when we are purposely living out that statement of glorifying God and enjoying Him.
Great post!
Blessings,
Dawn
yes dawn, it dovetails well with the 1st catechism question doesn’t it? we get so busy craving our freedom that we forget the responsibility that goes with it! thanks:)
Martha, you had me at C.S. Lewis! 🙂 Love your description of your blog as “the intersection of GOD’s grace & my story…”! Visiting from Fellowship Friday…blessings to you from one mom of daughters to another!
nice to meet you elizabeth:) i was hunting for a quote on being free after i wrote my 5 minutes + and i came across CS Lewis’ gem:) I loved it! glad to meet another mom of all girls:)
So many good life lessons here! Love the C.S. Lewis quote at the end too. I could relate to so much of what you said as we approach our 36th wedding anniversary Monday. We, too, had big plans, and some are downright comical now. But thankfully one of our plans was to put God first and be involved in Kingdom work…we still are and I thank God for that. Blessings to you on this Friday! ♥
thanks for stopping by nannette:) our 47th anniversary is coming up in september. the time has flown by!
the tho’t that we could have ever tho’t we would be “free” is so comical now. but i had no idea. once the girls started coming, it was crazy!
so happy that you shared, bless you.
thanks for stopping by denise:)