Sometimes We Need a Better Fit

 

When my grandson Zach was a teenager, he went to the lake with a group of youth. While riding on an inner tube being pulled behind a boat, he was suddenly thrown into the water. As they went to pick him up, they realized that he had broken both of his arms.

The exact cause was never certain, but later it was thought that his life jacket may have been too big for him. It was meant to protect him, but when he landed in the water, it may have restricted his arms and contributed to both of them breaking. Something that was designed to keep him safe had not fit him the way it should.

The life jacket wasn't bad. It was designed to protect him. It simply didn't fit him.

There is a spiritual lesson hidden in that experience. Sometimes we hold onto things in our lives because we believe they are protecting us. They might be old habits, fears, attitudes, or ways of thinking that once served a purpose. They may not have been bad things. In fact, they may have helped us at one time. But as we grow, some things may no longer fit who we are becoming. Instead of helping us, they could be hurting us.

I think the Lord works with us in much the same way. He knows that we are constantly growing and changing. Something that we thought was right for us at one point in our lives may not be what He needs us to carry forward. Sometimes He asks us to let go of something familiar so He can help us become something more.

That doesn't mean what we are letting go of was necessarily wrong. Sometimes it simply means we have outgrown it.

The Lord invites us to grow and become better. That can require us to recognize what is no longer helping us and trust Him enough to make a change. We may be comfortable with the way things have always been, but the Savior sees who we can become.

Just as Zach needed a life jacket that fit him properly, we need to make sure that what we are relying on spiritually is truly supporting us. The gospel of Jesus Christ isn't meant to restrict us. It is meant to strengthen, protect, and lift us.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)

Sometimes the things we are holding onto feel like protection simply because they are familiar. We may even be afraid to let them go because we don't know what will take their place. But the Savior knows exactly what we need.

Perhaps part of growing in faith is being willing to ask, “Is there something I am holding onto that once protected me, but doesn't fits the person the Lord is helping me become?”

When we trust Him enough to let go, He can replace what has become restrictive with something that strengthens us, lifts us, and helps us move forward.

Sometimes what we need isn't something completely new. Sometimes we simply need a better fit.

“Is there anything in your life that once seemed to protect you, but might actually be holding you back now?”