Whether it’s a relationship, a dream, or an activity you’ve enjoyed, letting go is hard. I’m having to let go of a lot in this new year and it’s been really hard. I ruminate about it, get angry, and depressed. Maybe you can relate.
The psychologist in me has a lot of solutions for my letting go woes. But my experience has been that while psychology can offer us tools, the Word of God is what powers them. Here’s the Bible’s How To for letting go:
Mourn
John 11:35 tells us Jesus wept. That’s important.
When I was in clinical practice, I saw many people who felt it wasn’t appropriate to mourn their loss.
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Every year at this time I do one of two things: weep at the loss of what was, or breathe a huge sigh of relief knowing that I get to start with a fresh slate.
As the New Year approached, my head began to spin with what I should be doing as far as setting goals for the coming year. Should I make resolutions? Pick a One Word or scripture focus? Start a new diet? Join a Facebook accountability group? All of these are good and often necessary things that will help to keep one focused throughout the year. In past years, I would be ridden with guilt and a sense of failure if I didn’t make good on a commitment.
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“Be careful driving home,” he cautioned over the phone. “The roads look wet, but they’re slick too. The rain is freezing.”
Grateful for my husband’s warning, I proceeded with care. Mindful of greater stopping distances, slower speeds, and reduced visibility in the dark, I arrived home safely.
I slept soundly, snug in my bed.
And awoke to school closings all around. Electric lines down in neighboring towns, with families who would be out of power for a full week.
I am certain there were spin outs on freeways and in subdivisions. My own daughter slipped in an unsalted parking lot.
People may even have perished through accidents and exposure.
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The empty squares soothe me and I’m tempted to leave them that way. For this new calendar is so crisp and clean. And last year’s calendar is so…messy and cluttered…
But then I flip through the old pages and see scrawlings that make me smile wide. A miraculous birth. My son’s first tooth lost. My first speaking engagement. And all the memories of travels and friends/family visiting…they are worth noting.
With each New Year, I reflect on notations I made the year previous. Ones I jotted in my calendar, my thanks journal, and in the margins of my Bible. They help me determine if this path I’m on is bringing me closer to Home.
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