Leashed.

And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.”

Mark 23:9

We have all seen them. In a crowded shopping mall, out walking on the street, in the middle of an amusement park on a hot summer day; parents who have their kids on leashes. I will not sugar coat by belief, leashes for kids may have been one of the world's worst inventions. Every time I see a parent, walking with their child as some sort of pet, I cringe. 

I do not know when or where this strange concept became popular, but I am thankful to my parents who never found it necessary to keep me on a leash as a child. I have a problem with these leashes for one reason, they completely inhibit the growth of the child. For the most part, I think parents invest in and use them because they are too lazy to actually teach their child. The kid leash is a way of forcing your child to remain by your side without explaining to them why this is important or letting them explore the world around them. You want to keep track of your child? Hold their hand, guide them along the path, and teach them to make good decisions for themselves. A leash on a child is limiting. It sets up forced boundaries and requires the child to live in the confines of the parent. 

I say this not to bash any parents or put any child's safety at risk, but rather to shed light on the way I have been leashing my own faith and relationship with Christ. I am much like a parent who knows they have been given a gift in their beautiful child. I know I have such an awesome gift in my faith. But I too, like a parent, am weary of setting it free. Parents use leashes for their children because they do not want them to run away, or become lost. They strap them into a harness that will keep them close! I know God has given me so many desires. I know the dreams I have are dreams He has placed in my heart. But even though I know they are calls from Him, I cling onto them so tightly, afraid that if I let go I will lose them. I too want to keep them close. 

But what happens when I hold on so closely? I constrain the dreams themselves. I limit the possiblities. I narrow them down to human plans on human timelines with only the outcomes I have in mind. I cling so tight that my mind misses opportunities that might pass my way and new dreams that God might be calling me to! I know the gift I have, but I am so afraid to lose it that I fail to let it expand, and grow, and change into perfectly what God planned! 

The whole concept is so bizarre, just like those leashes. God gifts us with these dreams and desires that build us and call us to Heaven, but instead of trusting that the God of the universe can fulfill those dreams, we think we have to condense them down to a version of a dream we can accomplish on our own! 

But here is what I have decided; I do not want to limit my future children or dreams by leashes. And the only way I can do that is by trusting more. I have to trust that God has a way of making everything intertwine and work together for our good. I have to trust that just because the dream may not be panning out the way I thought, does not mean it is not the way God had planned it all along or that it is not leading up to some greater plan He has for me! 

I cannot even begin to comprehend all the goodness God has for me. I am ready to stop limiting God's dreams for me with my petty, puny, and pathetic dreams for myself. He knows so much better and desires so much more. 

Are you willing to let go of the leash and let Him guide you? It is going to require more trust, and time, but a dream is only as big as you let it grow; only as great as you let Him make it!