Posted on facebook: 10/11/2012

When I got home from dropping Mags off at school yesterday, the garage door acted up again. I didn’t have time to mess with it before work and Brandt seems to have the “magic touch” (which he did). So I just let it go and parked out front. It’s just one of several things that need to be fixed around here…and although it can be a nuisance at times, it’s also a reminder to me of how I used to get so upset when things went wrong…and now I’ve learned to let it go…and in effect, let go of the negative emotions that “go along” with my negative responses. And I was gently reminded…the very things that used to frustrate me, now are a constant reminder of the victory I’ve discovered in “letting go”.

But I admit that it’s a really hard lesson to learn…especially in this day and age of “deservedness”. But there is something that you just can’t realize until you’ve lived it…there is TRUE freedom in letting go…and truly a PEACE that passes ALL understanding.

You see it most blatantly in “hoarding” …people are so afraid of “letting go” that they keep stuff all around them…bottom line, it’s a form of protection…and control. And it’s based in fear, not FAITH…God tells us in His Word not to worry about tomorrow…and He promises to provide for our needs…but that takes TRUST. And, just as the hoarder eventually runs out of room…there is no room for FAITH and TRUST when we hold on to fear…literally…

During my darkest time, I became a hoarder…not to the degree that you see on the tv shows, but I loved to collect. It seemed to “work” under the disguise of interior design…until it didn’t. I don’t have the time or space to get into all the things I collected or the “reasoning” I had behind it…but I knew that collecting somehow eased the pain…somehow I found comfort. But it was all a lie…that’s not where true comfort lies. It lies in letting go..

And we all have to face this in some way. We all have to face the most painful, of course…the inevitable letting go of a loved one who has passed. But the real lesson in “letting go” involves so much more…and it may not be in having to choose to “let go” of things…maybe it’s letting go of friendships that have become hurtful; or jobs that have become too life-consuming; or activities that take away time from what matters most.

Or just maybe it’s letting go of how we RESPOND…Because when we respond from pain…it shows up in FEAR and ANGER…and it hurts everyone involved. That’s the real reason we often do things to “comfort” ourself…it’s how we’ve learned to cope from the pain of our past. But responding in fear is not only “coping”..but a “cop out”…and there is NO true “comfort” in that choice of response…and there is NO VICTORY.

Honestly, I’ve learned through much blood, sweat, and tears that becoming free from that pain is the BEST GIFT that we can give ourself and the ones we love…but it’s hard…and the truth is, that most of us can see it in others…but not in ourself…or, if we do manage to see it…we have no training in how to “let go”.

I’ve been living this for the past six years… I had to let go of a marriage that became destructive, my oldest child as she went off to college, my “control” as I faced the possible loss of my job and my pride as I was blessed to accept help financially during that time of financial hardship, and most recently, a relationship that I thought had so much hope for a future.

The truth is that I can’t “control” any of life…all I can be responsible for is my RESPONSE….because how I choose to respond can bring “life”…or “death”. But I must let go of the pain…and the fear and pride that keeps me holding on to that pain…in order to surrender my will (no control) to the Will of the only ONE who has control….that’s the key to Victory in life.

As we see with Job, God can return a blessing that we’ve been asked to “let go”…above and beyond all that we can ask or imagine. So the real lesson is not about “what” we are called to “let go”…but “how” we are called to “let go”. And–to God’s Glory…certainly not mine…I’m learning to surrender my responses to HIM. And as I do so…I learn to TRUST Him more…and my FAITH grows…because there is more room…when I “let go” of coping in my own “strength”…and REST in HIS. Because He is TRUSTworthy; and the ONLY room for fear in the heart of a Christian…is a reverent “fear of the LORD”. 🙂

“Oh let those who fear the LORD say, “His lovingkindness is everlasting.” (Psalm 118:4 NASB)

“Sing to the LORD, all the earth;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
He also is to be feared above all gods. Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and joy are in His place. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
And let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” (1 Chronicles 16:23-25, 27, 28, 31, 34 NASB)