The beginning of freshmen year brought a new level of freedom into my life. It seemed as though every birthday leading up to 18 was spent in anticipation of the day I would move out and be on my own. For myself, this age meant no curfews, no dress code, and no disapproving looks or remarks from my parents. Freedom for me simply looked like no accountability. I quickly realized that I idolized freedom, but freedom as the world knows it. I thought freedom was the opportunity to do things that had been forbidden. But in experiencing this so called “freedom” I found myself sinking deeper into bondage.

I was experiencing bondage because I was living in direct opposition to who I was as a child of God. Staying out late, binge junk food, and partying was starting to drain me. This kind of freedom was beginning to be too much for me. I had always been the “good girl,” afraid to disappoint my parents, but I began to discover something…

I was free to make choices, but soon realized every choice I made had a consequence. These consequences were starting to shape a person I did not want to become.

My decisions were not aligning with my spiritual or physical wellness and with this realization I came to understand what true freedom is as a child of God. True Freedom is not the power to say yes to things the world tells me I want or what my flesh tells me I need; true Freedom is the power to say no to the world and yes to God.

We are free to choose, but only when we choose God will we experience the true definition of freedom.