In July of 2015 I accidentally shattered the screen of my essentially brand new iPhone 6. It was so unfortunate because I was standing in line to get on a plane destined for Limerick, Ireland. Thats not really the way I wanted to start out a trip over seas.
Let me recount this for you: it was time to board the plane. Whenever I travel long distances I always have a backpack with all my essentials, and I also like to bring a pillow - It helps make it possible for me to curl up in my plane seat and sleep. So standing in line, I had my backpack on my back and in my hands I had my pillow, my zipper pouch with all my travel documents, my phone...and probably a book I was reading when they called for my group to board. I was fumbling through all the things I was holding to pull out my passport and boarding pass, in the midst of all this I dropped my phone. It didn't bounce, and it landed face down. I peered over my pillow as I bent down to recover it. Flipping it over a look of shock swept over my face realizing that the screen had completely shattered. I know you probably are envisioning what it looked like right now, take that picture and make it about ten times worse. There were literally small pieces of glass falling off anytime I touched it. I had seen broken screens, but never one this bad. It was still functional, but when I got to Ireland I had to buy a screen protector just to keep it all together.
I still do this all the time. You would think I would learn. I'll be shopping and even though I'm carrying my purse I will still have my phone and keys in my hand while I try to decide which avocados look the best. I drop things all the time because I needlessly hold too much at one time. There have been times where I am just talking to a friend after church and I look down and even though I have my purse with me I have my notebook, keys, and phone in my hand.
There are literally a million inventions that exist to prevent this - pockets and purses are there for a reason. There really are no excuses for holding things.
Life has been a weird season for several seasons now, sometimes there are moments where it really gets under my skin. Then I look down and I see just how many things I'm needlessly holding and suddenly its no surprise that I keep dropping things. You can't paint a picture when you hands are full of trinkets. You can't run for miles if you are carrying two handfuls of marbles. It's just silly, and you will eventually drop things, and probably ruin them for good or drop them in sewer drains. Just like you can't move forward on to a bright future if your hands are full of the past.
I admittedly have a huge fear of being stagnant, and when I start to feel like I'm becoming stuck I get antsy and sick to my stomach. The kind of sick that makes you want to take everything you've ever made and just light it on fire. I've never done this...its definitely an inner crazy that I don't talk about very much, for obvious reasons. I just keep asking God to hold my heart. Every morning. Every Night. There are just some things we were never meant to carry. Sometimes to move forward you have to start putting things where they belong instead of trying to hold it all in your small, small hands. Just think about the things you could accomplish, if you weren't constantly picking up the things you keep dropping. Think about how far you could go, and how creative you could be if you were't so focused on whats in your hands.
Long story short: Don't hold the things you don't need to be holding. Buy the best avocados you can. And your rad marble collection wasn't made to be admired by peering down into the depths of a sewer drain.