Release

“…release…”

“My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare.” (Psalm 25:15)

It’s probably safe to say that most folks in our country today are ready to cry out to “Old Man Winter” in one united voice of frustration, “Release us!!!!!!!!!”  Whew, it’s been a rough winter in most parts of the country.  I thought about that a few days ago as I watched the icicles on our house begin to thaw and break away.  In the split second captured by my camera in the photo above we’re witnessing the miraculous “release” of water that had been bound up as ice.  The drops oozing from their frozen, suspended state of animation can splat upon the ground, be absorbed into the soil, and once more join in the greater movements of water that help sustain life for God’s spectacular creation.  Wow!

I continue to be amazed at how easy it is for us to be frozen and imprisoned by our anger, fear, greed, ignorance, anxiety, stubbornness, prejudice, misunderstanding, addiction, denial, pain, suffering, depression, ETC.  (Whew, that’s quite a list).  Obviously, there are many, many different ways we can find ourselves stuck, unable to move from our state of frozen suspension.

Sometimes we know we’re “stuck”, but we remain stuck in our “prison” because we can’t see the answer.  We can’t see how we could move from our present condition to a healthier state, so we remain stuck.  We may know that the state we’re in is not healthy, and possibly hurtful to others, but since we haven’t been able to figure out how to free ourselves, we remain in our “frozen” state.  We figure if we can’t see the way out, then there must not be a way out.

“When all else fails, read the directions,” goes a popular saying of our time.  Maybe that’s exactly what the psalmist discovered and meant when he said, “My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.”  Instead of remaining stuck, instead of concluding and settling with the idea that living in a state of frozen “stuckness” is the only answer, ask for help.

I pray that when my feet are frozen in some state of fear, anger, hurt, or whatever, God will remind me to ask for divine help so I might be released by Christ’s love and return to the nourishing flow of God’s gift of life.  How about you?

Blessings and Peace,
Gary
Pastor, Sand Hill United Methodist Church
Boaz, West Virginia

Help save lives! For more information on my new book, “A Relentless Hope: Surviving the Storm of Teen Depression,” visit www.survivingteendepression.com.

Check out my new video, “Teens Surviving the Storm”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1hSpxC_G24

~ by revgenelson on February 16, 2011.