This is a funky picture of the knob that leads to my youngest daughter’s bedroom in our home, the place where she had lived for over 20 years. But, she moved out a couple of days ago and is ready to start a new chapter in her life.
On the other side of that door is now a semi empty room filled with memories. I won’t lie to you, I have a flood of emotions threatening to gosh out when I turn the handle and enter the place. So I am delaying the inevitable!
So I am wrestling with the idea of how to let go when all I want to do is hold on?
Maybe you’ve journeyed through a similar trail. Or maybe your ‘letting go’ has nothing to do with a child moving out of your house, but with someone who passed away, or with a pet you lost that was like your companion… regardless… how do we let go when all we want to do is hold on?
There are no easy answers! But I want to share some thoughts with you that the Lord is using to help me through the transition.
A key to letting go is trusting that you’ve done your best with the time you had. Of course, we’re all imperfect individuals that make mistakes along the way and sadly our minds tend to drift to those moments when we messed up or dropped the ball with the people we love… even the arguments we may have keep swirling around in our minds.
My advice: refuse to go there! Don’t go back to some ‘kerfuffle’ (new word I learned yesterday meaning a fuss created by conflicting ideas) you had in the past. Concentrate on the good times and the laughter and the memories.
SAMSUNG
Good times with the people we love is what makes life worth living, isn’t it?
Then, once you trusted that you’ve done your best, trust God to do His best with the ones you love.
I recently performed a funeral for a Christian friend of mine. Sadly, he left behind his wife of many years and his 2 young adult daughters. But, between the tears, there was this serious hope that God had kept His promise of giving the followers of Jesus (like my friend) an outstanding, secure, beautiful beyond imagination, fun, real place called heaven. Trusting God does His best with those we love gave incredible hope and peace to the family.
So… yesterday, as I thought of walking into my daughter’s old room I broke down BIG! Even the dogs knew I was hurting. All 3 came of them came to where I was sitting and started licking me. I’ve heard that dog licks have certain healing powers and yesterday I confirmed it! My 4-legged friends made me feel much better.
When I composed myself I asked God for a word from His Word. He heard my prayer and led me to a couple of verses in Psalm 103 that stuck and helped,
As parents feel for their children, God feels for those who fear him…Making everything right for them and their children as they follow his Covenant ways and remember to do whatever he said. (Psalm 103:13,17 MSG)
BOOM! There it is! God will do His very best and make things right not only for those of us who love Him, but for our children as well.
Here’s the bottom line, it’s easier to let go when you know those you love are in God’s loving powerful care.
So, that’s it! My heart is heavy but at ease. I hope you find peace in the Lord as well. Maybe you’ve read this and can’t relate to anything I’ve written. No big deal… and at least you leave this blog with a word you can use to impress your friends and peers, kerfuffle!
Thanks for reading! Please leave me a comment if you feel up to it.
This article has helped me. There are times when past memories give me pain. The scripture God has impressed upon my heart is Jeremiah 29 v 11.
I know God loves me and wants the best for me, He does not want me to live in the memories that will drag me down. I Praise and uplift His name in Glory.
Thank you.
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Way to go, Patricia!!! Jeremiah 29:11 is a great Scripture!
Jorge, I can’t relate to letting go of someone I love, but I can apply your message to letting go of past regrets.
When I was 21, my parents took me to Hawaii for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. We visited 4 different islands. My age prevented me from being able to drive the rental car, (at that time, Hawaii required a driver to be 25 or older) so I was the navigator while my dad did all the driving. It was not a good mix, and my dad and I were at odds the entire trip……”I told you to turn here!” “Which way do I go now?” “Well, that’s what the map says!”……..that sort of thing. I was miserable and I made my parents feel miserable!
Now my dad is in heaven, and I deeply regret that I wasted that opportunity to spend quality time with my parents.
But your blog this week has taught me to let go of that regret, and concentrate on the good times I did have with dad and are still having with my mom.
The past is just that, the past. We need to move on. We learn from our previous experiences and mistakes to better ourselves for the present and the future. We learn to be more tactful, make wiser decisions and choices, and most importantly, trust God in every aspect of our lives.
Thanks again, Jorge, for your encouraging words!
Also, thank you, Patricia, for sharing that scripture in Jeremiah!
God indeed does have a plan for all of us. The best plan. His perfect plan!
Thank you for that story Jim! Letting go is essential if we want to enjoy the life of freedom Jesus came to give us.
WOW! Truly heart felt thoughts & experiences. One image that may help overcome regretful responses we all make … is the image of your loved one “smiling back at you”. Capture that picture in you mind & remember the love felt at that moment in time. As you remind us my brother, stay focused on the joy of our loved ones – and the loving sacrifice Jesus made out of love for us all.
That image of a loved one smiling back at us is great. Great thought, Paul! That’s the kind of image I want to keep going to.