My one and only daughter just turned 16.  She literally is……..well…. not me lol! Which is probably a good thing.  She turned to me the other day and was like, I’m pretty sure I’m the only one in this family that doesn’t swear.  Yes sweet girl, and that makes you holier than the rest of us. Hold on tight to that. Seriously though, she’s truly a gift.  Of course, we went to go get her license first thing in the morning and literally never saw her again the whole rest of the day.  She took my husband’s car and was gone. I was allowed a few moments of pep talk.  My deep thoughts by Heather were as follows: This is the best time right now.  You will love the freedom that you feel when you get out there but you better freaking pay attention my sweet child. Love you! She came home in one piece and so did the car so I was onto something. 

Not to turn this all spiritual but I can so here I go.  Don’t you think Christ is saying the same thing to us?  You will love the freedom you feel but freaking pay attention. Pay attention! I let stupid crap get into my life and in the way of the freedom I could have each day.  Freedom to breathe, freedom to dream, freedom to just be me. I mean, I’m totally not bashing myself or anything but it’s true.  There are so many times I allow thoughts to be bigger than they should be instead of just telling them to go to you know where.  Even situations I put myself in or people that come into my life and I know aren’t gonna feed my soul. I, no WE, have the power to change that.  We need to shed the things that might not be good anymore in order to live a full and honest life. I will never forget this dude in college.  I was so in love with him.  Ok if I’m honest, it probably helped that he played guitar but he truly was kindest soul and would treat anyone with so much respect and literally I was hooked.  So then one of my friends was like, dude, my friend is totally into you. Ya know what he said? She’s a bit too big and I’m just not attracted to her.  Insert knife in the heart. I tell this because I still would gush over him even though those words killed me.  I should’ve, right then and there, separated my entire being from his presence.  I should’ve shed all that nasty right off and walked away.  

I feel like the whole pay attention thing is more like a step back kind of a thing.  Take a moment to reflect and step back from life a sec. What’s feeding your soul in a positive way and what is killing your insides the moment you think about it?  WE have the power to control what goes in and out of our lives.  Christ has given us that right.  He’s given us that freedom through him to make choices that are right for us. Now remember, each one of us has a different story.  We are each leading different lives.  What works for your bff might not be anywhere near right for you. You are not allowed to compare.  Did you hear me?  Maybe I should say it again.  NO COMPARING! Thus saith the Lord and Heather.  I encourage you to take a moment in the next few days and just reevaluate. Shedding is scary and sometimes uncomfortable but in the end, genuine joy in your life outweighs it all. 

“Be cautious with what you feed your mind and soul.  Fuel yourself with positivity and let that fuel propel you into positive action.”