Getting Free: One Moment at a Time

This morning I am basking in the light of a desert sunrise.

There is something about sunrise in the desert.

The darkness doesn’t argue with the light.

It simply gives way.

Slowly at first.

A little light along the horizon.

Then another shade.

Then suddenly the desert that disappeared into darkness last night is right there again.

Mountains.

Sand.

Sky.

Life.

And this morning it feels as though the light is raining down on me.

Love.

Peace.

Joy.

The fruit of the Spirit.

Maybe I don’t have to manufacture any of it.

Maybe I can simply receive it.

For much of my life, I thought getting free would be some great spiritual breakthrough.

One prayer.

One experience.

One moment when God finally fixed Charlie and I walked away permanently transformed.

I’m beginning to think freedom works differently.

I get free one moment at a time.

This moment.

Right here.

Right now.

I don’t have to solve tomorrow this morning.

I don’t have to straighten out everybody who doesn’t understand me.

I don’t have to relive yesterday.

I don’t even have to figure myself out before breakfast.

That’s rather liberating.

I can sit here in the desert sunrise and let God love me.

Not because I’ve accomplished something.

Not because I’ve finally gotten everything right.

Not because I declared it, decreed it, planted a seed or swallowed enough Philippians 4 Chill Pills.

Just because I am His.

Walking in Freedom

Paul wrote about the fruit of the Spirit:

Love.

Joy.

Peace.

Those aren’t prizes awarded to Christians who finally get their act together.

They’re fruit.

Fruit grows when it remains connected to its source.

Maybe that’s what walking in the Spirit means today.

Stay connected.

Take another step.

Receive another moment.

When my mind starts dragging yesterday into today, let it go.

When fear tries to borrow trouble from tomorrow, come back to now.

When the old voices start telling me who I’m supposed to be, listen instead for the Shepherd.

“The LORD is my shepherd.”

“He leadeth me beside the still waters.”

“He restoreth my soul.”

There’s that word again.

Restoreth.

Maybe restoration isn’t always an event.

Maybe sometimes it’s a sunrise.

A quiet prayer.

A cup of coffee.

A conversation.

A laugh.

A moment when you suddenly realize:

I’m okay right here.

Not because everything around me is okay.

Because God is here.

The Desert Is Waking Up

The sun keeps rising whether I worry about it or not.

That’s another lesson I probably should have learned years ago.

God does not require Charlie Wear to supervise the sunrise.

Apparently He’s been handling it rather successfully without me.

So this morning I’m resigning from that position.

I’m going to sit here for a while.

Bask in the light.

Breathe.

Receive the love.

Receive the peace.

Receive the joy.

And when it’s time to move, I’ll get up and take the next step.

That’s enough.

I don’t have to get free for the rest of my life today.

I only have to walk in the freedom God gives me in this moment.

Then the next.

Then the next.

Until one day I look back and discover that all those little moments became a life.

The desert sun is rising.

So am I.

Getting free.

One moment at a time.

—Charlie Wear

Charlie Wear’s Notes