@thatencouragingmama: I spend an embarrassing amount of energy worrying about what people think. Not all the time. Not with everyone. But enough. Enough that I catch myself replaying conversations. Wondering if I said the wrong thing. Wondering if I disappointed someone. Wondering if I could have handled something better. Wondering if people understand my heart. And honestly? It’s exhausting. Because no matter how hard you try, somebody is always going to misunderstand you. Somebody is always going to disagree. Somebody is always going to think you should have done something differently. And if you’re not careful, you’ll spend your whole life trying to become a version of yourself that keeps everybody happy. A version that makes fewer mistakes. A version that has all the right answers. A version that nobody can criticize. The problem is that person doesn’t exist. I was reading about Saul recently in 1 Samuel 10. God had chosen him. Called him. Set him apart for a purpose. And when it came time for people to find him, Saul was hiding among the baggage. That image has been stuck in my head. Because I wonder how many of us are hiding too. Not physically. But emotionally. Spiritually. Hiding behind expectations. Hiding behind performance. Hiding behind the fear of getting it wrong. Hiding behind the opinions of other people. All while God is calling us forward. The older I get, the more I think freedom looks different than I imagined. Not bigger. Not louder. Not more impressive. Just lighter. Less pretending. Less striving. Less carrying things God never asked me to carry. Maybe freedom is finally believing that God’s calling on your life is bigger than other people’s opinions. Maybe freedom is stepping out from behind the baggage. And trusting God with the rest.
