Friday, January 15, 2016

Guilt Problem...

I have a guilt problem!  And I know it!  I've heard it said that admitting you have a problem is the first step in winning the battle...well I know that I have a guilt problem...so now what?

I want to be INTENTIONAL in minimizing the guilt that I put on myself.


You see...truthfully...I have NOTHING to be guilty about.  I self impose guilt that was NEVER mine to possess.  I also don't think I'm the only one with this issue.  I think lots of moms/wives/women have this disease.  It's so crazy...our kids get sick and we feel guilty...because we took them outside, we forgot their coat, we had to get a job to assist in family finances so they were in daycare...and we feel guilty!  As kids get older...they make a dumb decision and have to suffer the consequences (some ugly consequences) and we feel guilty...because when they were little we didn't spank them enough or we spanked them too much, or we let them go to the party where they made the bad decision, or we just didn't warn our kids about the pitfalls and the real consequences that they could face.  We plan a personal day off and we feel guilty because we aren't there with our students, we work with a team of people and we feel guilty because we feel like we let them down by spending a day off campus or out of the office.  We sit down for a few minutes after a long day and our spouse asks what's for dinner...and we feel guilty because we haven't decided yet or we don't care!  Our spouse decides to help with the dishes to be nice because he sees that we are tired and we feel guilty because he was nice!  I mean SERIOUSLY...I have a guilt problem.

Am I the only one with this issue?  I am hoping that the answer is NO!  But I do know that my case is pretty severe.  So today I did something INTENTIONAL: performed with awareness, done deliberately, consciously, or on purpose to work on my guilt problem!  And for the moment...I don't feel guilty!  I did something FOR ME!  I took a PERSONAL day off (before Spring semester hits full tilt) and kept it personal!  I was determined to be INTENTIONAL about it being FOR ME...full of down time, time with my heavenly Father, rest, without a list of to dos, minimal email checking, not checking in on my classes (my sub is awesome and I made sure she had what she needed before I left campus yesterday), and doing what I intentionally chose to do.

We all have areas in our lives where we need to intentionally tackle things that the world has let in that God never intended for us to hold on to!  Things that bind and trap us!  Guilt is a trap!  Your problem/trap might not be the same as mine but it needs to be tackled nonetheless.  What have you self imposed or picked up that the Lord has not placed on you or given to you?  What can you do today to INTENTIONALLY take the first step in winning the battle?  John 8:36 says, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."  Let's live free!



Now...let's be real for a minute...I do not think that my guilt issue is solved because for one day I focused on me and didn't get caught up in the guilt that might be knocking at the door.  But I do know that the Lord never intended for me to live under the weight or bondage of guilt that is self imposed.  So today I feel free and that is a WIN for my INTENTIONAL 2016.

    


1 comment:

Tiffany said...

I have a guilt problem too! I think Mom should feel guilty for passing this guilt problem on to us. :0) This was good to read and a good reminder! I'm glad you enjoyed that personal day all to yourself. You deserved it!