The Blessings of Letting Go

October 26, 2017 by JoAnna 27 Comments

I’m posting this from the mountains of North Carolina just after midnight. Yesterday was cold and misty, so my friend and I stayed in most of the day and enjoyed a fire. Right now, the temperature is in the upper 20s and a little snow has fallen. Since I’m on vacation and will be seeing my grand daughter this weekend, I’m trying to rest up as much as I can. So instead of a regular post, I’m sharing my October Newsletter below.

Will check back in later. 🙂

October Newsletter

I’ve been wondering about fall leaves. How can something that appears to be dying be so beautiful? Maybe because they are beautiful, and it’s not so much about dying as it is letting go to make room for something better.

This article explains how shorter days and cooler nights signal leaf-dropping trees to line up “abscission” (scissor) cells in just the right place to release their leaves. This letting go saves the trees energy and protects them from freezing.

In Trust the Timing, A Memoir of Finding Love Again, I learned to let go of burdensome relationships and resentments to make room for love. Letting go is rarely an easy process for me. Like I wrote in chapter 21, a friend once told me that “everything she ever let go of had claw marks on it.” I thought she was joking. Now, I understand.

The benefits of letting go do pay off in time.

When we let go of burdens, we make room for blessings.

 We let go of resentment to make room for love.
We let go of worry to make room for hope.
We let go of doubt to make room for joy.

Lately, I’ve been practicing letting go with my adult children’s lives and my parents’ possessions. The tasks are not easy. Okay, they are downright hard, and sometimes, I’m not that good at it. The logistical challenges make up the tip of the iceberg while the emotional challenges weigh heavy beneath the surface. But I’m doing the work because my grown children need to make their own decisions, and my parents don’t need material possessions in heaven. It helps to remember this message:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28 – 30

My children will learn as I did, (or rather do, since I’m learning all the time) and some day, someone else will be living in my parent’s house, just like new blossoms and leaves will grow on the trees when spring returns. In the meantime, deer have found comfort in the stillness of my parents’ backyard and make their beds in the fallen leaves.

What do you want to let go of?
What blessings might you make room for?