Words
I always tell my friends, I think God had me in mind when He created mountains.
They say He may have created them for more people than just me.
I’m not so sure.
I sat in the backseat of a car zooming down the road, coming home from a weekend road trip across the country with some of my closest friends. My sister was driving and everyone else had fallen asleep.
Except for me.
My eyes drooped. Hard. My sister looked back at me in the rearview mirror and said, “Hannah, it’s ok. You can close your eyes. You can fall asleep.”
To which I stubbornly responded, “No. This is my last glimpse of the mountains before we return to the flat land of Chicago….I don’t want to miss it.”
My sister chuckled and nodded. She knew better than to argue with me when my deep stubborn streak combines with my passionate love of mountains. It would be fruitless to try and convince me to go to sleep. Because I wasn’t about to miss a minute of drinking in the magnitude, and the majesty, and the might of those mountains.
Not. Even. A. Moment.
Do you ever feel like you are sleeping through your life? Like you have forgotten that on the other side of your eyelids lies the magic and whimsy and beauty of your life? Like you know you could will yourself awake to experience life in all of its magnitude but it’s so much easier to just allow your eyes to droop and to sleep through another day of your life?
We live in a world that is in the midst of waking up. Millennials ushered in a whole new way of living. where adventure is chased and beauty is celebrated. And now, Gen Z is benefitting from this new, waking-up-world we are creating.
But, we are so far from fully awake. We have so much farther to go.
Because, when Jesus described this life of following Him in a radical way, He wasn’t talking about an eyes-half-closed kind of life. He described an abundantly open, free life. An eyes-wide-open life.
Galatians 5:1 says. “Christ has set us FREE to live a FREE life. So take your stand!”
In other words. WAKE UP. OPEN YOUR EYES. Life is being lived all around us.
Flowers are blooming and hills are rolling and waterfalls are roaring. There is injustice to be solved and people to be loved and good work to pour yourself into. There is beauty to be seen and laughter to be had and journeys to be taken.
So wake up. Keep your eyes open. Don’t miss the moment. Don’t fall asleep. Instead live boldy. Live loudly. Live free. wake up.
Music
Called Me Higher by All Sons and Daughters
Meal
For better or worse, I’m not a rule follower. I thrive in the new, in creating, in crafting.
Therefore, I rarely follow recipes. Rather, I grab handfuls of vegetables and splash oil in pans and throw spices like confetti.
Create something beautiful. Use bright colors. Try bold flavors. Smell rich scents.
Embrace the freedom of creating something with no rules or boundaries or wrong ideas.
Prayer
Jesus,
Wake me up. Create a spark within my soul. Alert me to the wild world and it’s pure beauty.
Open my eyes to the people who are unseen so I may see them.
Open my eyes to the injustice around me so I may fight against it.
Open my eyes to the magic of life so I may delight in it.
Open my eyes to Your work in the world so I may join You.
Open my eyes to see Your heart so I may know You intimately.
Unleash me to experience the freedom you have called us to. Equip me to be an ambassador of Your freedom in this world. Send me to carry Your freedom to every place I journey.
Align my heart with Yours so I may fully live the story You have written for my life.
Time
Brainstorm what you could do if you were free because you are. Start with these and see what you can add to the list:
You’re free to love without hindrance.
You’re free to live with great intentionality.
You’re free to laugh as loud as you’d like.
You’re free to lead with remarkable courage.
You’re free to travel far and wide.
You’re free to stay home and spend time with people you love.
You’re free to create beautiful art.
You’re free to fight for justice around the world.
You’re free to confront the injustice in your hometown.
You’re free to dress in bright colors.
You’re free to speak boldly for truth.
You’re free to preach the Gospel in back alleys.
You’re free to preach the Gospel on a stage.
You’re free to create relationships across divides of race and culture.
You’re free to start world-changing initiatives.
You’re free to provide a meal for the hungry man in your city.
You’re free to design beautiful spaces for community to happen.
You’re free to write soulful poetry.
You’re free to raise funds for children across the globe.
You’re free to pour into the lives of children in your own neighborhood.
Beauty In The Freedom
Hannah Gronowski