On Freedom – Hey, are you Free?

It is two and a half miles long and marks 16 specific locations of the early history of the United States of America—from Boston Common to the Old North Church (where Paul Revere hung the torches to signal that the British were on the move) to the Bunker Hill Monument.  It chronicles the colonies’ struggle for independence from England, and is aptly called the Freedom Trail.  The story of the courageous revolt of the New Englanders who threw all the tea into the harbor sparks passion within me.  What our forebears went through to win their freedom—our freedom! 

Freedom is defined as the power or right to act, speak or think

as one wants without hindrance or restraint

We really do not think too much about freedom

    unless we do not have it

       are about to lose it

            or are in some kind of bondage.

Let me ask you a personal question:  are you free?

Our brief foray into mental/emotional woes would not be complete without touching on that which can bind us … namely, addiction.  In “What to do with the Struggle” http://pastorwoman.com/ReadArchive.aspx?id=2819, I described the early life of Ricky, which led him to seek relief by emptying liquor bottles and finishing his parents’ pills.  No one could blame the tortured young soul for trying to escape his lot in life. But Ricky V was not free.

Several times I drove guys from the mean streets of Long Beach to Costa Mesa to Charlie’s House where they could get sober (little more than a cot, a blanket and pillow and a bucket).  It was horrific to watch as their bodies voraciously begged their minds to give them more of that which would sate the substance gods.  The battle was for freedom.

My neighbor and beautiful friend succumbed to a premature alcoholic death, leaving three beautiful children grieving at her gravesite.  You too know people who have given up their lives way too soon because of the grip of maddening chains or the hopelessness of their own existence. 

Freedom is the power or right to act, speak or think

as one wants without hindrance or restraint

Freedom is attainable, it is available, and promised.

I remember going to AA with Karen and hearing person after person refer to their Higher Power … our Higher Power is Jesus, Friends.  How I love him!

My beloved Paul said this of him, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”¹ True that. Jesus came to set the captives free!² Does anything have you in its grip?  Time to resolve to set your course toward freedom.  Love the support in the 12-step programs, especially those that employ the strength and power of God, such as Celebrate Recovery³, with both nationwide and international chapters.  Do not believe the lie that you can ‘go it’ alone. 

None of us are meant to do life alone, addicts or not.  God created us for two things: relationship with him and relationship with others.  God is our ROCK.  Who else but David to capture this truth?  “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.”⁴

And we find out so much about our strength in the Rock through others who have it!

Watch, ask – how did they break through to joy, freedom?

Personally, I learn from others’ experiences—their struggles, victories and journeys.  Some of my most meaningful moments were born within the context of my precious communities—sharing, listening, laughing, mentally stretching, hugging, crying with, serving, and being served, growing.  It is within those contexts

I am most myself, most free.

^{1 – Galatians 5.1}

^{2 – Luke 4.18}

^{3 – Celebrate Recovery - http://www.celebraterecovery.com}

^{4 - Psalm 18.2}