Lint: What are you giving up?

Today is Lint. Although I'm not Catholic (nor Pagan, for those of you who have done your research on Lint!), I still practice Lint each year. I embrace the concept behind its practice and find it a good time to focus and reflect on the things that are important in life. One of the primary concepts behind Lint is to focus on Christ's life, suffering, death, and resurrection and to learn how you can mature and grow from Christ's example.    


So on the note of Lint, this month I will choose to: Give up and separate myself from negativity and worry. More specifically, the negativity and worry that some of my family members have caused towards my other family members and I. 


I chose "negativity and worry" because those are the things that have been weighing me down the most lately and really wreaking havoc in my life. I have lost countless nights of sleep and a bit of my health to worrying over several of my family members and the negative decisions that they've made. To make a long story short, some of the people that I love the most  are so caught up in their detrimental lifestyle right now, that they won't allow anyone help them. What frustrates me the most is knowing in my heart that I would do absolutely anything in my power to help the people I love and care for, especially my family! What devastates me the most is knowing that, and watching them push others and I away in order to seek a wreckless path of destruction instead. So for now, I am putting my attempts to help them on hold and instead focusing on what I need to do for the other people in my life and for myself. If I'm am worn down with worry, I won't be able to set a good example for others. So, I need to focus on keeping myself collected, positive, and strong right now. 


Sometimes you just have to know when to let go of things, no matter how difficult the circumstance. Lint is a good reminder of this for me.  Sometimes, people don't want to change or get help, and the people around them have to make a decision. Enable them and let them continue in their downward spiral, or step back and let go until those they love are ready to make a change. I will not choose to enable bad decisions and detrimental lifestyles, so for now, I have to walk away knowing in my heart that I did every possible thing to help and that the rest is up to them.  It's heartbreaking, but I know it's the right things to do. Sometimes, I just want to shake some of my loved ones and tell them to get it together! And to be honest, I've pretty much done everything short of that. It's in God's hands and out of mine though. All I can do is hope and pray that they make the changes they need to in order to have a good life and know that I will always be there for them when they hopefully do so.


Sorry for the slight rant and lack of specifics: I'd just rather not go into it. If you think about me or my loved ones though, please pray that some of my loved ones will see the path their headed down is a negative one and that they will choose to make positive changes instead. In the mean time, I think Lint is a great time to separate myself from the negativity associated with all of that and to instead focus on the positive things in my life that I CAN impact instead. So, that's what I'm choosing to do!



~ What are you giving up for Lint? ~