Today in the USA we celebrate Independence Day, a day that marks are freedom.   I read the gospel reading today from Matthew’s gospel (9:18-26).  It is Jesus raising the official’s daughter from death, and healing the hemorrhaging woman.  One was enslaved in death, the other in suffering and separation from her community.  Jesus frees both of them from the things that hold them bound, illness and death.

                On this freedom day, it is good for us to ponder the ways that we are “unfree.”  What are the circumstances and thoughts that hold us back, hold us down, make us less than?  Remember, freedom is not something that exists outside of us.  It is something that exists (or not) within us.  C.S. Lewis once remarked, “The gates of hell are locked from the inside.”  Sometimes our lack of freedom can come from inside of us.  The way I think of myself and my life can keep me chained up, imprisoned.

                Our freedom can start right now….in this moment!  By changing one thought, I can change the way I am either imprisoned or free.  Sometimes, the prison can be the thoughts of my own mind!  And maybe I need the insights and thoughts of another, maybe even my higher power, to show me more than I can see myself!

                To be free from the things that limit me so that I can be free for the greater things that give me life, a sense of awe and wonder, and a greater ability to move and create!

                May your Independence Day be a day of transition....from the slavery of your mind and heart to the liberation from all that oppresses and limits your ability to live life freely, authentically and truly you!