The direction my life is going leads me to the word simplify. My family has been filling trash bags to donate. We are buying less. We are filling our time with more important endeavors and less trivial ones. Once that ball gets rolling, perspective has more room to come in.
All of this has made me picture an open hand. I try to live my life with my hands open so I don’t get attached to stuff. I am not meant to hold onto things, but to Jesus. Even the people in my life aren’t permanent. The only everlasting one is God. I want to live like I believe this.
Let go of fear that holds me back.
Let go of shame that chokes me.
Let go of what the world says I should have.
Let them go through my fingers.
The open hand is cupped. I want to only catch what God puts in there: His blessings. Right now I have plenty of stuff that only provides a moment of pleasure. What I desire is to release what I do not need so God can fill me up with His gifts. The things I never want to lose can only come from God.
Peace is wrapped around me.
Grace is poured out on me.
Love is holding my hand.
Joy puts a song in my heart.
Strength lifts me up.
Hope keeps me going.
These are what I want my life to be built on, because these are the only things that can never be taken from me. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and be accused of storing up the wrong things.
The posture of this open cupped hand is humility. It is brokenness. It is praise. It say “Jesus you are enough for me. Nothing this world can offer compares to You.” When we truly say this and mean it, God can use us for His glory.
Try it. Open up that hand and praise God for whatever He puts in it.
Today is finally the day to reveal that my story is featured on God-Sized Dreams. Go over and read it here!
linking to Holley Gerth.
strainme 
What a beautiful visual of the way God desires our surrendered life to be like! So often we hold on with clenched fists, greedy for our desires and our needs to be met. May we learn to live our lives with open hands!
Amen! If our stuff has a hold of us, we will never have a hold of God.
Sarah, I am visiting you from the Holley Gerth link up. I love how you write peace wraps around you. It is like a warm blanket to protect us and to share with someone. Thank you.
Thank you for coming by! I love the peace blanket I discovered in God. 🙂
so exciting to read what God’s doing in your life. Inspiring! Go for it!
It has been a slow process, but I am coming around to see the light!
Glad to have you here today 🙂
Beautiful.
Thank you. Your kind words mean so much!
You are right… nothing is permanent in this life, not even people. Lately I have been reminded that God gives and takes away. Even, even if He takes away my husband, God will be everlasting. It makes me think about what I attach to, what I make important in life because if we have nothing, if we have not what we desire, we ought to be able to still be ok… in God, with God.
…and I think what you share about your current journey about simplifying is really encouraging. Keep writing!!
You are so sweet! I think the less importance we can place on earthly things, the more we can put on God and what He wants. That’s the goal!
Sarah,
Love this — open hands are so much better positioned to receive what God has for us instead of us holding tightly to things of little importance!
Yes! A fist is poised to cause pain, not receive blessings.
Beautiful! I specifically looked for your blog at Coffee For Your Heart today. Thank you for encouraging us to open our hands to God!
That is an amazing compliment!
I am not so much encouraging others to open hands as encouraging myself. 🙂
Sarah, thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment on my post from over at Holley’s place…I look forward to your posts each week, so open, so honest, so transparent…especially encouraged by your quote today…”Open up that hand and praise God for whatever He puts in it.”
I am so glad God linked us together! I love your comments and encouragement so much!
Thanks for your story . What you said is so true but not always easy to implement.
Thank you for your honesty. I think that the greatest things that happen in life are rarely easy. And they definitely can’t be done alone. When we do what God asks, He blesses us in ways we didn’t see coming!
Oh, how I need to simplify, Sarah. This is so encouraging! I love the visual thought of an “open cupped hand.” It’s so beautiful, thankful, and humble. Many blessings on your prayer group and book :).
Thank you so much Candace! Sometimes you get a picture stuck in your head and have to go with it. 🙂