Leave it Behind






I love beach walks; the salt air clears my mind. It’s also my go-to place when I’m thinking about those who are struggling. 

I have a friend whose journey is filled with anguish. Her future could get better, but she can’t seem to move forward. I can relate.

Some people get frozen in bitterness, others are weighed down with regrets. For me, it was self-loathing. For her, it’s debilitating sadness. 







For some, moving forward into the unknown seems worse than staying someplace unhealthy. 

But for things to get better, change has to happen, even when it’s hard and a bit scary.

They say that the things that break us can make us better people. But who wants to be broken?






 Well, at the beach we can take a lesson from the crab. 

As a crab grows it must periodically shed its hard shell. Keeping the old one isn’t an option. Shed it or die.

But once crabs shed their shell they’re vulnerable. They stay sheltered in the dense kelp beds until a new shell forms. 






 Soon they’re fully protected, healthy, and growing again. Scary for awhile, but it was the only way to live.

The lesson for humans is that we sometimes need to shed our hard shell—getting rid of the things that continue to hurt us. We need to shed bitterness, anger, a bad habit, even the regrets for how things turned out. 

Back in my late teens, the choice was mine. Would I let my eating disorder ruin my life, or would I break free?




How to shed the shell? Tell yourself it’s time to let it go. Have someone you trust support you while you’re vulnerable. 

God gives us a daily dose of hope and covers us with peace. He also promises to be your strength right in the middle of your weakness.

Soon enough, you’ll make your way out of the shelter. Easy? No. Painful? At times. But needed. 


Leave it behind and grow again. Life awaits.
“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” Philippians 3:13


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