As we move into a new week, I’ve been thinking about how we carry the things God places in our hands.

Not the things we’re still waiting for.
Not the answers we wish we had.
But the quiet, already-given gifts that often arrive without much fanfare.

Sometimes hope comes like that, small, understated, almost fragile. And when it does, I’ve noticed something about myself.

I tend to hold it tightly. Not out of doubt, but out of fear. Fear of losing it. Fear of disappointment. Fear that if I don’t protect it, it won’t last.

When you’ve lived through long seasons of uncertainty, it can feel safer to grip what’s good rather than trust it to stay. So instead of carrying hope, I squeeze it. I brace. I manage. I try to keep it from slipping away.

And before long, what was meant to be life-giving starts to feel heavy.

This week’s theme, Holding What’s Been Given, isn’t about learning how to believe better or trust harder. It’s about paying attention to how we’re holding what God has already given us.

Because there’s a difference between holding something with care
and holding it with tension.

One leaves room to breathe.
The other slowly adds pressure.

As this week begins, I’m sitting with a few simple questions, not to solve anything, but to notice my posture:

What am I holding right now — something that’s already been placed in my hands in this season?

When I picture how I’m holding it, what does my grip look like? Tight? Careful? Guarded?

And what might it look like to carry it with just a little less pressure — not letting go, but loosening my grip?

There’s no rush to answer these questions. No expectation to land somewhere neat or resolved. They’re simply an invitation to begin the week with honesty and openness.

Hope doesn’t need to be squeezed to survive.

Sometimes it needs room.
Sometimes it needs trust to grow quietly.
Sometimes it just needs us to stop bracing for loss long enough to receive what’s already here.

As we step into this week and toward February’s theme of Carrying & Trusting — my hope is that we can practice holding what’s been given with open hands, even if just a little.

That’s where I’m starting.

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If this reflection encouraged you, would you take a moment to:
– Pray — that Faith in the Fog finds its way into the hands of those who need its message of hope and healing and that I listen to God’s voice in all that I do.
– Share — this post with someone who might need the reminder that they’re not walking alone.
– Give — if you’d like to help make it possible for Faith in the Fog to reach those who need help navigating the fog of healing, you can do that here.