Throwing Off the Weight

                 On the bitterly cold days of January, I found it necessary to don heavyweight canvas bib overalls with a couple layers beneath. I pulled on the heavyweight canvas Carhartt jacket I had gifted to myself after feeding and watering cattle in February 2021. I topped all that heavy apparel with the Pendleton trapper hat given to me by my sister and brother-in-law for the most recent Christmas. I kept warm but the cumbersomeness of it all was substantial.

                Years ago Dad rejected Muck boots choosing instead a lightweight pair of rubber boots. I use multiple layers of socks in my must-have Muck boots. Dad opted for one pair of work socks. The only overalls he put on were denim bib overalls. He rejoiced when Mother introduced him to sweatpants to wear under the overalls which he said in his late 80s felt like “sheet iron.” His ability to deal with harsh cold weather, especially temperatures was honed by sleeping in the unheated bunkhouse from early elementary school age until he volunteered for the Army Air Corps.

Dad loved and used the hat from Angie and Ben for Christmas in 1997. The
 coat was just too heavy for him to work in. He politely kept it but used it only
 on extremely cold occasions -maybe when going to town. I chuckle seeing the
tag on the hat sticking straight up. He was so comfortable in his own skin that
 nothing ever embarrassed him!

                As the temperatures modulated recently, I felt such freedom in getting outside work done as the layers lessened, and I swapped the heavyweight jacket for a much lighter one. Moving much more quickly to get tasks done with less time and not nearly as clumsily found me recalling Hebrews 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

                The writer of Hebrews distinguished between weight and sin. Dr. Charles Stanley defined the weight as “passions of this world weighing us down.” These weights are anything that rivals our commitment to the Lord in obediently doing His will for our lives. They may be attitudes, activities, relationships, or numerous other things. Many times these activities or relationships are not wrong or sinful but simply occupy a higher place in our lives than our relationship with Jesus. In this way, they become weights interfering with our focus on Him.

Lord, give us clarity in our spiritual vision to identify anything that weighs us down. Strengthen our resolve to remove from our lives or reorder our priorities to run exactly as you would have us to run. May we determine daily to throw off anything that hinders our wholehearted obedience to You.