Freedom

I love freedom!! It enables me to do, what I was created for; speak out, when I have something to say, laugh, when nobody else is laughing, dance, when the others are sitting, sing, when there is a dead silence all around me, acting free in every situation. I am convinced, that each person has to fight for himself to get and stay free. The history of mankind is full of fighting for freedom. Mostly it is not just one battle, but battles and wars, that last up to several years. Freedom is worth fighting for and you will win this battle only if you don´t give up on it. John 8:31-32 says: So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and and the TRUTH will set you free." It sounds so easy, but this is just the beginning. I believe that this verse is one of those "everyday verses", that seeking and proclaiming the truth for our lives, families, relationships and nations is our neverending task. Is the truth what we perceive through our physical senses, or what our Creator sees and says about us? If you abide in my word..

In my fight for freedom, after embracing the truth, that God has never forsaken me and that He cares deeply about me, the next battle was called FORGIVENESS. Sometimes we don't realize that we live in unforgiveness, but we may be wondering, why a certain relationship is not progressing the way we wish it would, why are our wounds from the past still open and painful, why do we feel like being paralyzed, not able to move forward. For about a year I was also unconsciously carrying this weight of unforgiveness toward my dad (more in blog Revelation of His Love). When the Lord showed me this while I was praying, first I didn't want to hear anything about it! It is not true! I have nothing to forgive him! my soul was shouting at the Lord. I know he did not hurt us intentionally, he was severely depressed and he fought courageously against it for two years. But after a while that well-known feeling of abandonment and anger arrived, telling me, that whatever the reason is, the fact is that our father left us here to fight for ourselves. Whether it was or wasn´t his choice, he left us. As I understood this inner need, with no further questions I forgave my dad from the bottom of my heart. According to the parable of the evil servant (Matthew 18:23-35) unforgiveness imprisons us and gives us over to the tormentors!!! We have been forgiven so much, and we are not able to forgive others trivialities? After repenting and forgiving a huge relief came in and the bitterness started draining away from my heart.

The next step on my way to freedom was GRATITUDE. As soon as I put my eyes on the wonderful things we have experienced together as a family, my attitude of gratitude started growing. What you feed grows, what you starve dies. After a while I realized that I'm incredibly grateful for what kind of father I had. Not many fathers manage to teach their kids what my father taught me in this short period of time. He showed me how to love your life, your family, friends, nature, how to deal with problems with humor, how to be passionate for whatever you do, how to work hard, how to relax, how to appreciate the works of others, enjoy the little things, see the others around you. He taught me that giving brings more joy than receiving, that you should not take yourself too seriously and most importantly never give up on dreaming, dreaming about things not yet heard, not yet seen.

Why are we humans constantly focusing on things that we don't have, things we consider necessary in order for us to be happy, things that other people have? And so we often don´t see and don´t appreciate all we have: life itself, our bodies, health, faith, family, home, friends, lot of good food, education, freedom, music, dance, peace... When you start listing them out, you will not be able to stop. Kids in Africa have exactly this posture of heart and although they possess so little, they are the happiest children I've ever seen. In a place where we stayed, the kids ate rice and beans, beans and rice every day. Only once a week they got a piece of fish or chicken. When I asked them what their favorite food is (only European can come up with a question like this..), they replied with enthusiasm: rice and beans! And so I understood that CONTENTMENT is a key factor of living in freedom everyday. As Paul writes in Philippians 4:11-13: „For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do this through Him who gives me strength.“