Jesus, Not Jesús: Finding The Divine In The Space Between Us.
  • Be Kind
  • About this blog
  • About the author
  • Contact
  • Be Kind
  • About this blog
  • About the author
  • Contact

Empty Yourself

4/15/2019

0 Comments

 
“You can’t receive if your hands are full.”       ​- St. Augustine 

Picture

“You can’t receive if your hands are full.” So true on so many levels.

This quote dates back to St. Augustine, but has been used throughout the ages (and rightfully so) to remind us that life is ready to give us gifts, to shower us in blessings. But accepting them is difficult when your hands are still holding on to old baggage.  Just as you can’t pour from an empty pitcher, you can’t receive if your cup is full. 

Next to me is a cup of hot coffee. It’s fresh, and it’s aroma wafts up to my nostrils. It calls out to me to take a sip and enjoy its richness and goodness. If I ignore it, what will happen? It will get cold and no longer be as enjoyable. I know myself, and a cold cup of coffee is not pleasing to me as it is for some. I know that if it gets cold I will dump it out in the sink and start over with a new, fresh cup.

Life needs to be enjoyed in the moment, if only because right now is where all the blessings are found.

But how can you enjoy them when your cup is filled with cold, stale coffee?
We all need to ask ourselves  "What am I still holding on to that’s keeping me from obtaining and thriving in the joy of life?" Is it a past resentments, hurt or  wound? Maybe it's jealousy or anger that continues to fester? Maybe you're still holding onto a grudge against someone close, or rage against a way of life you think is unfair, or system you disagree with?

Are you carrying things around that have no real value or that no longer help you, but harm you even more?   Maybe it’s time to free up some space in your life so that your palms can be wide open to receive all of life’s true treasures. 

​Last week my wife was helping someone pack up their house. Like most of us, they had a ton of useless stuff which they were holding onto “just in case.” Old phone chargers, video cassettes even though they had no VCR, Tupperware lids with no bottoms. You know the list because we all have that “junk drawer” in our homes, or a basement closet filled with boxes that have yet to be unpacked from the last move (I embarrassingly admit).

​When it’s time to move on, that stuff becomes part of the overwhelming feeling hits you like a ton of boxes filled with old books you don't read or forgotten crap you don't need. Imagine if someone asked you to hold out your arms so they could stack it all up for you to carry out into the world. how much do you think you could hold on your own?  How far would you get before you collapsed? That’s the problem with holding on to those things - they only hold you back!  

You may not even know you are holding onto stuff until that time, the time to move on from hurt, or a bad relationship, a belief system, or even a home. It could be a “corporate environment” or an old “tradition” that is keeping you from moving forward towards the gift of life. It’s important to take the time to look within yourself and ask, “what do I need to get rid of so I can move on?” 

Today is a great time to take an inventory of your life, to see what you are holding onto and what you might be willing to let go of. Life is looking to spoil you rotten, to give you your hearts desires. But you can’t receive if your hands are full. 

What can you let go of today? What weight or burden is pressing on you that you can free yourself of? What person in your life is holding you back or placing more junk in your life? What addictions or behaviors are causing you to be that person for others?  

Today is a good day to let it go, to drop it,  say goodbye, and to just empty your cup and be filled with the rich blessings of life so you can become the person you were made to be. A beloved child.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Ian Macdonald

    An ex-copywriter turned punk rock pastor and peacemaker who dedicates his life to making the world a better place for all humanity. 

    "that they all might be one"  ~John 17:21


    “Prius vita quam doctrina.”
    ​~ S
    t. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)​
    * “Life is more important than doctrine.”

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    February 2011
    December 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010

Be Kind

About this blog

About The Author

Contact

Copyright © 2011