There have been times in my life where I would think to myself, Be Elsa today and just let it go. The problem here is not thinking about letting it go, it’s the actual letting go process. I sometimes find that I am holding a grudge or am keeping relationships or things in my life that I don’t need. Does this sound familiar or does this happen to you? Let’s look at a few examples, shall we?
Example #1: I had a disagreement with someone months ago and thought it was all resolved. It came up recently in a conversation and is clearly still on the other person’s mind. When questioned about it, they rephrased and said that they were over it. Honestly, I don’t remember all the details, but I bet if we asked the other person, they might. Hmmm.
Example #2: I have too much stuff! I have lived in my house a good while and I swear I turn around sometimes and think: When did I get that? Why do I have two of those? Some things are more challenging to let go of if they have sentimental value. For many years, I kept gifts that students had given me. But if it is not a useful gift, maybe I don’t need it. Hmmm.
Example #3: My life is way different than I thought it would be like right now at my age. When I was younger, I envisioned my life in one way, and let me tell you, it’s not turning out how I thought. That’s not bad at all, but I clung to “what’s if’s” in different parts of my life for longer than I needed.
How do the three examples relate to my spiritual life? Good question. If I am relying on God to show me the way, even to guide me towards better decisions, why do I resist when I can clearly see that it’s time to let go? I notice in myself that the resistance comes from me thinking that God must be wrong, it’s not supposed to turn out that way.
Well, it turns out that I don’t remember details of the disagreement because I did let it go. I am getting better at putting items in the donation pile. I like working from home and wearing sweats sometimes. If I pry my fingers off the control button, it’s all going to be all right and end up much better than I expected.
So, over to you. Where do you need to “let go” in your life today? Will you take one small step to get there? At least pray with me today and ask God to show you what something you can let go of today. Then let him take it.
