Happy New Year! I hope 2018 is treating you well so far.

My first big deal of the year was getting the cast removed from my middle’s left arm.  He went off the side of a slide instead of down the right way back in November and spent the Christmas season in a bright green and red cast.  At first he complained a little, but then he got used to having it there.  The week before we were set to go have it taken off, he decided he wanted to keep it.  He didn’t want to go through the process and he thought it might hurt when it came off.  After much reassurance of how great it would be to have it off again, he was willing to go but still nervous.  Once all was said and done, he was happy to have both arms useful again.  He was also happy to have his independence back (as was I).  He can now put on his shoes, socks, and shirt without my help.  He can also carry the whole menagerie of items he deems necessary for leaving the house each day.  He sees now that he really is better off without the cast.

How often do we struggle with the same fear?  We develop a cast of our own very easily.  Maybe it’s a bad habit or a avoidance of a good one. We know that it is limiting our mobility and independence.  We know that we would be much more useful to God without the burden of the cast we’ve created for ourselves, but much like my injured middle boy, we think we need it.  We think, in some way, the cast is helping something heal.  It’s helping us manage our stress or it might hurt to try.  Someone might think we’re weird.  We might feel weird trying it.  Whatever the excuse is that we’re using, we are holding onto a bulky, burdensome weight that we don’t need.

Let’s all try to take off the cast this year.  Look at your life, your daily routine, and your thoughts throughout the day.  Where is the cast?  Is it weighing you down and keeping you from being as productive as you can be?  Take it off.