Vortex of Awesome

​Hebrews 12:11

Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
For several years, the show The Biggest Loser would do a challenge to help contestants see how far they had come and the significant impact of their weight loss. At this point, most of the participants had lost upwards of 50 lbs, but for this challenge they were required to put back on whatever they had lost in the form of weighted vests, belts, etc. They were then required to run a specified distance, stopping at checkpoints along the way where they would be allowed to jettison a certain portion of the weight they carried.
As you might imagine, it was an eye-opening experience-to suddenly be slowed down and struggling under the weight they used to carry. But at each check point, as weight was cast off, the participants then ran a little faster, their breathing was less labored, and their focus shifted from managing the weight to moving forward with purpose.
As we embark on a new year, I wonder what weight each of us is carrying that hinders us from running the race set before us. It may be actual, physical pounds, but I suspect the truth is that we are laboring under the burden of other things-
Fear, anxiety, resentment, pride, unhealthy or broken relationships, unrealistic or unmet expectations, laziness, misplaced priorities.
And we are so weighed down, struggling to breathe, preoccupied with carrying it all, that we can’t move forward, can’t move on.
What if this is the year we “throw off everything that hinders?” Big or small, what if you and I chuck those weights to the ground and leave them there, leave them behind? What would change if you and I were free to run the race marked out for us?
It’s time to let the weight go.

Dee Price