Growing in Freedom, part 1

I'm going to take the next few days to share some thoughts on adulthood and freedom with some of my younger readers. Older readers are free to read as well, and I welcome comments. But, I do moderate them, so they won't appear immediately after you post them.

I'm going to share a little from my life.

At 19 I went to Boston University, right after my stint in the Army.
At that time in my life, I was revelling in my freedom and loving the fact that I was free to make my own choices. Perhaps it was the military service, or maybe it was my early degree from the School of Hard Knocks and Bad Choices, but I had reached a point where I only wanted God's plan for my life. He must had given me the discernment or wisdom to realize that His was the path to true freedom.

I'm going to keep this short and then expound a little in the next few days. But, I knew I had entered adulthood at that time. I knew because of what I did and didn't want out of life. I knew because of the deeper questions of choices and destiny with which I was wrestling. I tend to be a bit of a noncomformist, naturally. I was probably born that way. But this was different. Like never before, I had absolutely no interest in running with the herd and following the crowd. I was perfectly content to swim upstream and stay focused on my goals. The herd was just peropheral scenery. I had learned to want what God wanted for me and I knew it was what was best. I certainly wasn't being contrary, just focused.

In those days, I filled my journal with thoughts and tomes about freedom. I don't think I wrote anything earth-shatterlingly profound or noteworthy, but I was taken with the concept. I was tasting true freedom and I knew that "free" was something I always wanted to be. I also knew that freedom wasn't cheap. Staying free had to be a deliberate choice. Bad choices impeded freedom, and so did any lies or misconceptions I was laboring under.

It was a dynamic time of learning truth and clinging to it. I thought it was fun because I knew it would lead to a great life.

One thing I love/loved about God was that He was absolutely willing to lead me into freedom. People think God is all about rules and taking our freedom. But that's totally wrong. He's all about freedom: getting us out of all sorts of bondage and giving us the truth. The Word says, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free".

That's it for now. Keep checking in.