About 40-45% of what we do every day is a habit, ritual or tradition. We have programmed our selves to live our lives in a manner in which we were socialized. Our lives are not relational by nature. For example, my home church believed that women were to never wear pants to church (under any circumstances), step foot at the altar or rightfully understand her role in the church. There was order to everything and any thing out of the order was blasphemous.
Sounds rather insignificant, right. Maybe so, but the impact is greater. My existence as a female and how I saw myself was rooted in this religion. However, as I matured I began to question this belief system. (Oops, little girls are to be seen and not heard. Dang it!) But as I get older, I'm learning that a lot of my struggles in my life are tied to the religion of unhealthy habits, ungodly belief systems and mere tradition. I'm still challenging this religious existence.
My marriage was a religion. Meet somebody. Fall in love. Get married. Buy a home. Have a kid. And then what? What's next? What is the purpose? What is the dream? What are we doing? Spend another 40 years fulfilling religious expectations?
This is no longer my story or religion.
I'm looking for relationship. (Notice there is no "a" preceding the word relationship.) Once again, I'm not looking for someone. I'm looking for something. I want to live free in all that God has for me. I want to live and love beyond the surface. I want to touch the heart and soul of those connected to me. I don't want to be connected based on what they can do for me superficially or physically. I want to be fulfilled in all areas of my life.
Relationship means work, sacrifice, commitment and love. It's unconventional in every dimension. Dimensional! Not one-sided! All areas of a thing coming together to make a greater thing! If I ever want my life to be meaningful and fulfilling, there has to be a relationship with God. A relationship that is not rote behavior and practices to fulfill an empty promise. It's not church. It's relational.
Growing this relationship is challenging and takes time. Religion slows things down, the elephant in the room takes up way too much space and I keep getting in my own way. I fall short often. Praying is communicating with God not begging him to save me from something He has already delivered me from. Study His word for what it means and not what it says. There is a difference. Learning the power of discernment!
I'm breaking free of the religion and being bound by meaningless traditions and expectations that are not positioned or ordained by God. Learning to be free in His spirit, swept by His love and secure in His grace is enough for me. This kind of love requires giving up something, a part of ourselves. That's the beauty of it. It's the relationship that reciprocates over and over again. I'm not perfect, but I'mPerfectly seeking a relationship.
Live outside of the man-made box for once. Explore the unconventional love of relational living. Love is not a religion. It's a relationship.
#ReligionFreeLifestyle #UnconventionalLove #RelationalLiving
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