Letting Go of Being Stuck – Moving on to Serve your Purpose.

A year after hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, I heard an interview on the radio with a woman who was forced to get out of New Orleans because the house she lived in with her children became uninhabitable.  After hurricane Katrina many people were forced to move away and for this single mother it turned out to be a great blessing.  She got away from the poverty stricken and crime infested neighborhood she used to live in but could not get away from for various reasons.  Then Katrina hit and she had no choice but to move away. Moving to another state into a smaller, much quieter town meant a new beginning and a much better future for her and her children.  Letting go of the old enabled her to embrace something new.

Some people are in a completely different situation.  They live in a very nice place, but they live beyond their means, making themselves slaves to their property.  Finding a place with a lower cost of living may take the pressure off to have to generate the income (or dual income) needed to live in the hip and trendy place. Sometimes the move is necessary to get out of a cycle of debt.

As with the single mother from New Orleans, letting go of your old environment can mean a huge improvement in our lives.  But why wait for a catastrophic event?   Why waste time?  When I was in that downward spiral, I had no time to waste, not even seconds.  Had I held on to the controls of that plane any longer, I would have run right into the ground.  Waiting to let go in many situations often makes things only harder and more difficult.  Even if it takes us out of our “comfort zone” if the place we currently live in doesn’t meet our needs, or is way beyond our means, we need to consider letting go and moving on to a more suitable place.  We can start taking steps to get us closer to where God wants you to be.  We can cry out to Him in prayer and ask Him for His will in our lives.

However, when considering a move, remember the old saying: “You take the weather with you!”.  Sometimes, we may think we need to move away, and things will get better.  It’s important to make sure there is not something else that we need to let go of first. 

Examining ourselves, our mindset, our motives, our attitudes, our level of forgiveness, our level of gratitude, our willingness to serve and to make sacrifices, our ability to embrace a struggle, which makes us grow…..all those may reveal that the location we live in is not the problem, but the way we think.

Questions to ask yourself:

·         Why do I want to get away from it all?  When you have the answer to that question ask “why?” again, then ask “why?” to that answer and so on.  Ask this as many times as it takes until you find the motives of your heart at the deepest level.

·         Do I live in a house, in a neighborhood, a town or an area of the country that I feel is bad for me and/or my family?  

·         Does my environment have negative pulls or temptations?

·         Is where I live dangerous, harmful to my children, harmful to my health?

·         If any of this applies to me, I may need to give it some serious thought on what I can do to get away.  It may take time, but I need to start thinking about it, start doing some research in the library or online to find out where I could go.  And get some help, chances are I may not be able to do it on my own.  I may need to ask some volunteers in a non-profit organization, ask a social worker, just keep looking and not give up.  Even if my uncomfortable situation has become my comfort zone in a way.  I better let go and take action to move!

·         If I live in a very expensive area that is beyond my means, I need to ask myself: does it serve the needs of my family, or am I just keeping up with the Joneses?

·         Do I serve my purpose where I am? 

·         Did I just happen to live where I live or has there been a plan, a purpose, a desire to be where I am?

 ·         Do I feel strongly that even though it may not have been my choice but where I am is where I am meant to be because I have opportunities there to make a contribution, to grow, and to serve my purpose?

 ·         We may not be able to live in our dream location or community but should look for two main criteria:

1.    Does the place help me to grow and fulfill my purpose as a person?

2.    Can I make a meaningful contribution to the community?

I believe that if those two criteria are fulfilled, we are in a good position to live a fulfilled life.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who had to suffer greatly and eventually die for his resistance to the Nazi Regime wrote: “We can have a fulfilled life without all our dreams being fulfilled.”

© On Eagles Wings, LLC