What you CAN'T let go of....

I've never been much of a pack rat
In fact I try my best to not hold on to stuff longer than it is useful in my life.  Old clothes that don't fit are pitched aside with out a seconds hesitation. Things that break I throw away, often, before I find out if they can be fixed.  Pictures of old events gone by have never even been my thing.  I live in the here and now and throw away anything that is not longer of use to me.

But I ask this question of myself
What is the one thing you CAN'T let go of? What is the thing that you hold on to no matter what? What is the thing that if it was broke you would keep just because?  What is it you CANNOT get out of your life?

Now at this point in my life I feel like I have given up quite a bit to follow God
I have passed on chasing after higher paying jobs in order to be able to serve God in other ways.  I spent quite a bit of money on hanging out with teenage kids in order to mentor them in their relationship with Jesus.  I have moved out of my home state, from a better paying job, to a place where I know almost no one and often feel totally lost as to what my next move is here in Michigan.  And this isn't taking into account that stuff that the world thinks I've given up.  Like sex, drugs, and rock n' roll (I still listen to and love rock n' roll so I didn't give that one up).

So why do I ask this question? 
The reason I think this question to be important is because I believe it is the question God asks of us.  At least in my life this for every time I get to the point where I think 'So God have I given you enough?' he says 'Not yet'.  And I think I have found that in my life he keeps asking me for the one thing I can't let go of.  It seems like God is out to make me see that he is really all that matters.

 Its like God looks me in the eyes and says 
"If all you have is me, if your whole world comes crashing down, and you're left with just me, no friends, no job, or money, or car, or house or....... Would I be enough for you?"  I believe God knows what is best for me and that because of this he keeps asking for a little more.  He wants me to see me depend on him just a little bit more.  He wants me to be just a little bit more commented to him. Because the reality is that God wants ALL OF ME.

Think about it in this way...
When you play on a sports team, lets say Basketball because I know that sport well, at the start of the season the coach hands you the playbook and there are maybe 2-4 plays in the playbook.  And at the start of the year he teaches you a zone defense which is a defense designed to give you less responsibility because just cover a zone not a man.  But as the season goes on he expects more.  He adds plays to the playbook and teaches you a man defense, which is the best defense because it requires that everyone know who they are covering and also knows that they are expected to help when someone gets beat, and just as you think you have it figured out he throws more at you more plays, a new way to play man to man defense.  And the coach just keeps asking for more because he wants you to be the best you can be.


This I believe is how God is with us
He wants the best out of us so he keeps asking for more.  And in due time he asks us all to find out what we can't give up and then he says "Okay, now give me that."  And because God loves you and is seeking the best for you he keeps asking for you to believe and become more depended on him.


So I ask again, and I ask myself as well, what is the thing you can't give up?  What are you holding on to that God is asking for you to give?  What is God asking for you to give up next?