Shake the dust from your feet. Listen and learn; take from this season what it has to offer. Lay down anything that harms you or others; say you're sorry if you need to, because we usually do. Open your hands, stop clenching, controlling, grabbing, protecting. Open them wide and your heart will likely follow. We surely don't want to live small and bitter. We never have to clutch the precious things; they are precious precisely because they cannot be taken. Lay down your battle, even if you are winning it. You'll get to the end and then what? Validation? Vindication? Being a conqueror is not all it's cracked up to me. Unclench your hands. Just drop it. Shock someone with grace; it can be so unexpected. Look around instead. Find the precious things, name them, and celebrate them.
Jen Hatmaker
