Letting Go

"It wore a crown of glory..."

I looked out the window, stunned.  Just a few days before, on a crisp late fall morning, the maple tree in my garden bed was abloom with the bountiful leaves that had turned to a vibrant shade of red. Now, a pile of curling and dying leaves carpeted my yard.

“How had that happened so fast?” I wondered.

Just a handful of leaves still clung tightly to the maple tree as a reminder that fall and the onset of winter were claiming the remnants of the tree’s ruby crown of glory. The changing season with the rain and colder weather was a reminder in nature that change was at hand. And even the tree was learning to let go of its former things.

I reflected on my own life, right along with my favorite tree.

"I was stunned by the change..."

One of my beneficial books I use regularly, “The Language of Letting Go,” is a resource tool I read whenever my world seems to spin out of control. It’s a reminder, like the changing season, that I’m never really in control. And like the leaves on the trees that surrender their tight grip to the changing season and the winds of change, I too must learn to let go!

Sometimes letting go is easy; other times it’s gut-wrenching. Take just the natural progression of age and changes experienced in the physical body. It’s required me to let go of many things and hobbies I once loved, or now I need more help with my massive yard and garden. I’ve even had to let go of certain forms of exercise that bring more injury than fitness these days.

Maybe for some, it might be learning to release a tight grip on a relationship that no longer holds life. Or for others, changes are necessary as they see nothing but dead life, like the dead leaves, in the activities or a job they cling to.

Change is hard. Change is good. And learning to let go through different seasons of life is just a part of growing in and through life! Maybe God is allowing the winds of change for good. And though it feels like an Arctic blast and may feel painful, trust that He’s blowing off the death things that are simply weighted leaves in the soul of our lives.

Letting go for me has never been easy. Change once was frightening or even created a bit of insecurity in me because of my chaotic childhood. But now I view change, like a changing season, with new eyes of hope and expectation!

And in truth: if we are holding too tightly to the old things--the dead things--then God cannot release new things of blessings, new seasons of life, and new experiences into our lives.

"What are you clinging to too tightly...?"

What about you? What are you clinging to? What dead things do you need to let go of? What winds of change is God blowing into your life? Like me, can you let go and let God, and trust for new or better things to come? One season may have ended, but embrace change with excitement and expectation!

Beloved:

I know the winds of change are blowing in your life. I know you feel insecure even with the change. But let your security rest in Me and Me alone. Seasons of change will bring new seasons of blessings into your life. Trust Me. Let go and cling to My Hand.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven...” (Ecclesiastes 3:6)

“For I am the Lord, I change not...” (Malachi 3:6)