Last week, during the FOCUS Retreat, the overarching theme was detachment. This topic was, of course, unplanned, but God always has a way of weaving together a message that seems to be weighing on the women attending.

My current challenge with detachment is letting go of burdens that aren't mine to carry. Maybe you can relate.

Think of a new purse. Beautiful on the outside, yet over time, the purse becomes heavy and messy because we've added more than what we need inside. All the while, presenting to others as if we have it altogether. 

We only need the essentials: things like keys, a wallet, identification, a small notebook, and even tissues.

However, most times our purses become overloaded with "just in case" items or "what if "scenarios, symbolic of emotional baggage, overthinking, or people-pleasing tendencies. Non-essential things like;

• Extra makeup 
• Other people's items
• Receipts, papers
• Old mementos

As you take inventory of what's weighing down your purse — and you...

Recently, my husband surprised me with a trip - alone with no kids. You may wonder why this is worth sharing, but trust me when I say it is.

This trip was the first vacation we had taken together without kids since we married, so 30 years is kind of a big deal.

We had a wonderful time restoring what can easily get lost with opposite schedules and parenting young adults.

To be completely honest, we have always enjoyed traveling with our children, and that's how we wanted to do it, and we still do.

But I discovered that as my children grew, so did the burden of finding solutions to their problems or challenges, and I began to feel burned out.

To be clear, I'm not talking about offering advice; I'm talking about laying awake at night, searching for products, practices, or whatever was needed to fix the problem instead of tending to my own needs at 54, which consists mainly of a good night's sleep.

And because I am someone who needs to be physically removed from a place or situation...