Weighing You Down & Holding You Back

As we begin a new season of Lent I have two questions for you: what’s weighing you down and what’s holding you back? Perhaps you are being weighed down by a destructive (or at least distracting) habit that you would like to kick, but you just can’t seem to get out from under it. Perhaps it’s an attitude that hangs over you like the dark cloud that followed Charlie Brown from one cartoon frame to another. I’m not good enough. I can’t make a difference. There’s really no point. Whatever it is, what is weighing you down?

And what is holding you back. Once again, it could be a habit (too much social media for instance), or perhaps it’s an attitude once again. Those people are terrible, there’s nothing I can learn from them. Guess what? With an attitude like that you certainly WON’T learn from them! Whatever it is, what is holding you back?

Lent is a wonderful time to do a deep clean on a spiritual level while we turn back to God. One of my favorite children’s bibles describes repentance as: “Stop running away from God and run to God instead.” With fasting, increased study of scripture, and works of charity, Lent can be an excellent opportunity to come out from under the things that are weighing us down and to shrug off the things that are holding us back. We can do this by looking to Jesus and running back to God the way a child runs to a loving parent.

Jesus isn’t magic, of course, and we can’t just click our heals together and say ‘There’s no place like home.’

But Jesus does tell us that when we are weary and carrying heavy burdens, we can come to him and receive rest for our souls. St. Paul writes that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. When we are in a relationship with Jesus the things weighing us down and holding us back don’t get the last word: Jesus does. Lent is a wonderful time to remember this and to run toward him with open arms.

Blessings to you all, Ed