Getting out of the Cage Without Actually Leaving

Is it really only January in this winter season? I have come to learn that I was not created to live where there is cold or snow. I have faced many trials and struggles in life with great perseverance, but if ya drop me off in Antarctica I think I would just fall face first into the snow and freeze to death. Snow is pretty for about a second in a picture and that about does it for me. I don’t want to play in it, I don’t want to drive in it, and I don’t want to wear layers of clothes to go outside.

Don’t get me wrong, I know there are plenty of you who love the snow and cold and freezing weather, and that is great. I don’t think everyone should share in my disliking, it is just part of who I am. Oh, to be able to go outside and let the sun beat down on my entire existence would fill my soul. I NEED the sun everyday. It actually feeds my soul and it has been hiding for to long. I long for its warmth, its brilliance, its awakening of my soul, its reminder of our Almighty Creator.

As I am seemingly not able to experience the warm outdoors here in lovely Illinois I have come to refer to my home as my CAGE. That sense of being locked in and there is no way out. It is a great reminder for me on a macro and micro level. I am certain I don’t want to LIVE in Illinois, I am certain I don’t BELONG in a suburban neighborhood, and I am certain I don’t want to live in THIS house! See, look how enlightened I am due to the cold.

I have finally solved an amazing mathematical equation: Carolyne + confinement to her cage= depression, which= withdrawal from life, which= more depression. I am starting to see a pattern here!

I love to serve my family and I know that God has a great purpose for that, but I serve often under less than pleasant conditions and that makes it a bit harder to reap the joy. I have come to understand that I HAVE TO get outside of my cage once in a while and serve outside of my family. He has a purpose for me with people other than just the ones living here. This was a big one for me to understand.

Today, all I had to do was make time to listen to a live podcast with Free Agent Underground and even though I didn’t physically leave my cage, I left mentally for a while and it did a world of good. In a day were I have more than I can dream of accomplishing, I took the time to seek out something that was Godly, encouraging, and truthful, and it made a difference in me. Want to know an even better part? I still accomplished what needed to be accomplished and the day flowed just fine.

We all have the same amount of time in a day, that doesn’t change. What can change is what you CHOOSE to do with it. When we push ourselves beyond what we think we’re capable of we get to see what He says we’re capable of. Claim your time, take control of your time, and use it to serve Him abundantly.

You are always welcome to stop by and let me out of my cage. As long as were not going to “play” outside in the cold.

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