SYMPTOMS

So you did the hard work of digging out the junk. Now you are following the tracks of your symptoms to see where they lead.
Here are some of the paths you might trace:
* You are filled with frustration because you have overloaded your schedule without giving yourself any breaks.
 *You cannot shake that anxious feeling because you are failing to turn things over to the One who IS in control?
 * Maybe you are holding on to things and people too tightly when God is reminding you that HE is the only One you should be clinging to.
 * Are you depressed after years of living under scrutiny and judgment, feeling as if you will never measure up no matter how hard you try?
Fill in the blanks. What are your symptoms telling you?








When we are sick and we ignore our symptoms what happens? Our illness progresses and becomes much more serious, oftentimes life-threatening if it is a severe case. So why would be ignore the symptoms of our heart if it is possible they are life-threatening?


I would encourage you to pull out your journal (you have one somewhere I bet), and jot down some of your thoughts about this process. Even if it is just a list of symptoms, that is a start. Once we begin identifying our symptoms we are able to come to a conclusion about the condition of our heart.





When I was knee deep in my closet I had to identify the stuff that had built up all around me determining what was clutter, what was simply misplaced and what was absolute TRASH!


Take time (MAKE time) to ponder these things in your heart to determine the things that it is time to throw away once and for all.


I have a funny story about something I held on to for far too long that needed throwing away, and it took an intervention to get me to do so.
The last time I was cleaning my closet my daughter happened to be here. Sitting upon the large bag I had set aside to be donated were a pair of super cute orange wedges. My daughter asked me about them. I began explaining to her that I knew I needed to get rid of them but I love them so much and they were the perfect shoe that goes with a particular dress, yada yada yada.
 She picked them up and began looking them over. "Mom, have you been gluing them?" Well, yea, the sole has been trying to come off so I keep gluing it back on. Oh and yes the insole too. She gave me a sideways look and marched them out to the trash can.
 Really?! I thought they were worth keeping when they were falling apart!


How many times in our lives do we hang on to things that are falling apart at the seams when it is time to walk away. Now do not mis-read this as any kind of permission to leave a marriage without a legitimate- God reason. I am referring to relationships that are falling apart, filled with deception and lies but you keep on making excuses to hang on to them. Bad habits that are causing you to trip. Excuses that keep you from moving forward in your life. We hang on to these things gluing them together, which only fixes it temporarily. It is time to march some of your excuses out to the trash.
Time to let go of the things you have been clutching on to; control, perfectionism, self-doubt, anxiety, fear, past mistakes, brokenness... The list goes on and on.
Grab that journal and begin writing....who cares if you are writing well, or making sense, just write. I promise you the process will help you to unload it all. Identify those symptoms and begin discovering what they are telling you.


You cannot fix what you do not acknowledge, so let the acknowledgement begin.


XO
Sherry