Some Letters Need To Be Burned

I have a strange habit of keeping things. Not in a hoarder way, or a practical mom-always-saves-the-wrapping-paper way. But I like to go back and remember some of my best of times (and occasionally worst - I definitely kept my grade five diary with the badly drawn pictures of my childhood self kissing Corbin Bleu, that thing is gonna be comedic gold someday...).

These things are all mementos - pictures in frames, heart shaped rocks, dirt from places I've visited, shells and seaglass, handmade birthday cards. I keep every one. 

Some of the things I keep aren't just physical objects. Sometimes they're memories. Sometimes they're thought patterns and sin that I let run around aimlessly and destructively in my own head. 

And that's where I am tonight. And where I find myself constantly. What am I holding onto that's keeping me from the arms of Jesus? What do I keep running back to, over and over, instead of running to the One who loves me most? 

You see, not everything we cling to needs to be kept. Some letters need to be burned. Some memories need to be chucked into a lake (SAY IT AGAIN FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK). Because as much as we want to relive and reignite and remember, those things aren't moving us forward. They're not bringing us closer to Christ. In fact, they become a shackle of destruction. A blockage that keeps us from the joy, peace, and hope that we desperately thirst for. And there is joy, peace, and hope in abundance, ready for us as soon as we ask.

 So let's burn those letters, delete those numbers, and put those ex-boyfriend's sweaters in a box. Let go of your bitterness, let go of your jealousy and walk with your head high - free from shame. We've tasted and seen. We know He is good. And now, above all other things, we cling to Him. Moving constantly forward. Let's run to Jesus.