The soundtrack to the movie FROZEN "Let It Go" (lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez) won "Best Song" at the 2014 Academy Awards. The song represents Elsa's journey from being judged by others to her acceptance of her right to "let it go" and live the life she was designed for. Now isolation in a castle made of ice wouldn't be my way of letting anything go, but the fact that she was not going to let anyone else make her choices for her I can appreciate.
Do you live in an ice castle of your own making? Are the walls that surround you made of bitterness, resentment, and self-condemnation? Do you justify your choices even while you wish you could do otherwise? I have a picture frame that holds a photo of a jail cell and it says, "Freedom is learning you have the key." The release of other people's expectations can be freeing. People who stick to their principals and faith who are willing to stand on their principles even to death are called "Martyrs." They are the ones who are being massacred in other countries for clinging to their Christian beliefs. But I believe there are many who are standing up for their principles here in America. They are the women who are standing up against injustice, they are the veterans returning home and overcoming their PTSD, and they are the children who are leaving the Foster Care system to pursue a life of their own design in spite of the traumas of the past. They have "found the key" to the chains that have held them captive. They are pressing through their fears to ask for help, to look for solutions, and are willing to go the distance for positive change.
"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"
2 Corinthians 5:17
Change doesn't just happen-you must decide to change. You decide to release others of the blame for your current circumstances and take responsibility for the development of the life choices you make today. Open the door to the prison made by someone else and escape those chains that hold you captive. Let it go, walk on, and live!
Day 13-Release