Help To Let Go

I was thinking about all the changes that have occurred in my life over the last decade.  There have been a lot of "letting go" of people and possessions and places where I have fit in.  Most of the "letting go" has not been of my own choice, but have occured as a result of the death of loved ones or my need to down-size to a smaller house and yard because of aging.  My life circumstances had changed, and I had to adapt. 

One way that I choose to "let go" is pictured above.   Ten years ago, the family business had come to an end and it was my responsibility to dispose of everything.  One thing I had to do was figure out what to do with the sign that sat next to the busy highway advertizing our hobby shop.  The sign was composed of two 15 foot tall rockets which I had fabricated from old porch pillars, 4 X 4's, aluminum flashing and plywood, and had painted with our business name. It wasn't easy to know what to do with the rockets; they symbolized 20 years of my husband's Army career and 17 years of our family's life, business, and reputation in our small hometown.  At last, however, I chose to let the rockets go and I consigned them to a bonfire.

It is not easy to "let go"...  However, sometimes it's necessary.  At this time of the year when most of us reflect on the past year and think about the new year to come, we often formulate our plans to change- to live better lives.  Sometimes in the process of "letting go", we may be at a crossroads, and the choices we make of what we keep in our life, what we "let go" of, and what we add may influence our lives and the lives of our loved ones for years to come and into eternity.

It's good to seek God's counsel about how to make good choices for the future when we realize we need to "let go" of things from the past.  In the Bible, Peter gives us very sobering advice concerning this.  He tells us what kind of people we should be as we realize that God is soon coming to judge the world.  "What sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the elements will melt as they burn!  But according to his (God's) promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells."  2 Peter 3:11-13  

How are we to live in holiness and godliness as we wait for God to fulfil His promises to us?  The Bible tells us to "let go" of stuff that hinders our walk with Jesus and to draw closer to Him.  "But one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 3:13,14

I don't know about others, but I plan of using the next few days before the new year to ask God to show me if there are things that I need to be willing to "let go" of which are hindering the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Maybe there are others who are considering the same thing.  I'm sure it pleases our Lord when we ask for His help in "letting go".