AJ and a LATTE

Have you ever thought about the phrase “letting go”?  That has so many different connotations.  I am in a “let go” season.  Between letting go of a career I loved to letting go of that piece of my heart that I birthed 23 years ago, it is a pretty tough period of transition.  It really got me thinking; how many times in our lives are we asked to let go and what is the best example?

When we are little our biggest fear is letting go!  If you let go of a parent’s hand in a store, you can get lost.  If you let go of the balloon, it is gone forever.  If you let go of the paci, you might not get it back! If you let go of the toy someone else might get it.

Then we hit those “beautiful” teenage years where all we want to do is let go.  We want independence! We want to let go of all the ties that tell us “no.”  We long to be free in all of our 13, 14, 15 year old wisdom.  Then there is the senioritis.  This is really a time of mixed emotions toward letting go.  That freedom is still desired, but we seem to be losing a bit of that safety net.  Adulthood looks so appealing, and BIG.  

Then there is the inevitable letting go that happens somewhere between late teens and twenty-something.  You have to let go of your first love. You have to let go of the innocence that protected you from evil in the world. You have to let go of your paycheck to insurance and taxes.  Sometimes you have to let go of childhood dreams because life has led you in a different direction.  There is loss, letting go of pregnancies or marriages.  Letting go of parents to the circle of life. Letting go of your child to become number two in his life.  

So much letting go.  But as I sit here and contemplate, I realize what the Father let go of.  The obvious is His Son.  I am going to go a different direction, however.  Do you realize how difficult it must be for the Father to let go of us then allow us to have free will!  That free will is exactly what led to the sacrifice of His beloved Boy.  God let go of ultimate control over our decisions.  He gave us the choice to follow Him.  How overwhelming. He KNEW we wouldn’t be able to handle it.  He KNEW we would often not choose Him.  He KNEW it would take the crucifixion and resurrection to save us from ourselves.  That puts a whole new light on my letting go.  

The things I am having to let go are big to me.  They are monumental, life-altering.  They are pale in comparison to the letting go done by my God, but I’m so grateful He understands that my miniscule crises are not irrelevant in my world.  He is compassionate as I struggle and grieve.  He KNOWS FIRST HAND what letting go feels like and is willing to be my Safe Place.  As I journey through this new season, I am humbled to be under the wing of a Father who will let me have my human moments in the presence of His Divine.

Until next time…