That fridge you keep saying you’ll clean out?⁣

That person you keep meaning to text?⁣

I do. ⁣

It’s like there’s this unpleasant list of all the things I don’t really want to do, that I need to do…⁣

And it just weighs me down!⁣

When I finally call and schedule that appointment, I always always always think:

“Man, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and I feel a million times better now.”⁣

And that’s basically what the Lord is telling us all the time. ⁣

“Release yourself from bondage.” (D&C 19:35⁣)

In this case, it was the Lord telling Martin Harris to just pay off the debts to publish the Book of Mormon, and move on. ⁣

In other words, release yourself from the mental “unknown” and anguish, and just get it done. ⁣

And in the kindest way possible, that’s what He’s inviting us to do all the time. ⁣

Whether it’s a big sin we’ve been carrying around on our backs, or a minor little task that we just can’t seem to do, He has lovingly already done His part. ⁣

And He’s ready for each of us to decide to release ourselves from the bondage. ⁣

The bondage of sin, yes, but I think that also includes the bondage of heavy mental loads, too many commitments, or a long to-do list. ⁣

As soon as we start to make the first move, to pick up that phone, to decide that today is the day, He is right by our side doing more than His fair share of the heavy lifting. ⁣

But we have to make that decision to release ourselves. ⁣

What will you release yourself of today?

“The fact that we can repent is the good news of the gospel! ….We can be freed from feelings of despair and the bondage of sin.” – Elder Renlund

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Release yourself  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

When is a kite the most “free”?⁣

Growing up, we would go to the beach a lot. ⁣

If it was windy enough (and let’s be real, it’s always windy at the beach in Northern California), we would throw kites into the air, hold on to the spools, and slowly turn the handles until we could barely see the kites flying way up high! ⁣

I remember thinking that I was holding this kite back. ⁣

The string was restrictive!

I wanted to let go of that spool so the kite could fly as high as it possibly could.

That string was just tying the kite down. ⁣

But what happened when I let go of the spool?

The kite nose dived, crashing into the sand.

I wanted to “free” the kite by letting go of all restrictions.

And yet when the kite had nothing to hold onto, it fell to the ground and stumbled along in the wind. ⁣

It turns out, the tension of the string was exactly what was holding the kite up.

Sometimes, I hear people talking about how much more “free” they are without the commandments to follow. ⁣

And listen— sure, there is more literal freedom when you don’t “have to” follow this set of rules and commandments.

But I have learned that it is the “tension” and “restriction” from these commandments that Christ uses to truly let us be FREE.

There is not-so-obvious-to-others and undeniable-to-ourselves FREEDOM when we partner with Jesus Christ and willingly make covenants that bind us closer to Him.

Eternal, emotional, spiritual, peaceful, joyful freedom.

Christ knows our full potential, and He knows the “tensions” that we need in our life in order to actually keep us afloat, as much as we think we might be more “free” without them. ⁣

Bondage is NOT being tied by a string to a masterful kite-flyer.

Bondage is NOT having anything to pull us up, leaving us to be dragged every which way by the wind. ⁣

We are free BECAUSE we are bound to Christ.

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The kite analogy  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.