Don't Hold On
June 15, 2022
June 15, 2022
I sometimes have a hard time letting go of things. The perfect example demonstrated itself near the end of last summer. We were staging our house preparing it to sell and my husband and I were getting into arguments about what to keep and what to let go of. I really struggled with this. Then one fateful day there was a fire on the back of our mountain. We kept going about our day, until about 7pm we were notified we needed to evacuate. I was so shocked I could barely move. I am so happy my husband had the opposite reaction. He immediately started packing up the necessities.
When the shock finally wore off, I sprung to action and after packing clothes began looking for my wallet. I searched the house thoroughly and no wallet. We were only given 45 minutes to leave so we were pressed for time. Once we had everything else packed up we were still looking for our wedding album and my wallet. Both we ended up leaving behind.
We packed up our cats and drove to the Salvation Army. They ended up setting us up in a hotel where we could watch the fire on our mountain. I watched as the flames kept going further and further down. At 5:30am, I finally fell asleep due to exhaustion. When I woke up five hours later all you could see was smoke covering the majority of our mountain, but we learned the wind had shifted direction and the fire went back to the back side of our mountain.
We remained in the hotel room for almost a week when we notified we could return to our home. We were blessed, the house smelled like smoke but no damage. That experience taught me what was really important and I found it easier to let the physical things go. We easily got rid of two-thirds of our stuff. This would not have been the case had I not gone through the evacuation.
In life though what we hold onto are not always physical things. We tend to hold onto many things: offences, grudges, anger, and bitterness. We may even find ourselves holding onto the past and not really living in the present, let alone planning for the future. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."
We are supposed to let go of these things and not hold onto them. If we hold onto them we do not move toward the future, and sometimes we do not even believe we have a different future. We get into this pattern of acceptance, this is the way it has always been so this is the way it will always be.
I was at a retreat last weekend and while I was there I realized I have been holding onto the belief that my health is what it is and had been in this cycle of acceptance, almost embracing it. God wants more for me than to be sick, injured and in pain all of the time. The future he has for me requires for me to be healthy, so I can let go of the past health issues and look forward to what God has for me. I am not telling you to ignore your health issues, I am saying believe for something better for your future. Do not let the past or even your present determine your future!
Personal Note: If you are having a hard time letting go of something whether it be physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually know that you can do that today. You do not need to hold onto things so tightly, it tends to hold us back from better things in the future. If you don't think you can do it alone, reach out to someone you know or myself and together let go and embrace a new future for yourself.
When the shock finally wore off, I sprung to action and after packing clothes began looking for my wallet. I searched the house thoroughly and no wallet. We were only given 45 minutes to leave so we were pressed for time. Once we had everything else packed up we were still looking for our wedding album and my wallet. Both we ended up leaving behind.
We packed up our cats and drove to the Salvation Army. They ended up setting us up in a hotel where we could watch the fire on our mountain. I watched as the flames kept going further and further down. At 5:30am, I finally fell asleep due to exhaustion. When I woke up five hours later all you could see was smoke covering the majority of our mountain, but we learned the wind had shifted direction and the fire went back to the back side of our mountain.
We remained in the hotel room for almost a week when we notified we could return to our home. We were blessed, the house smelled like smoke but no damage. That experience taught me what was really important and I found it easier to let the physical things go. We easily got rid of two-thirds of our stuff. This would not have been the case had I not gone through the evacuation.
In life though what we hold onto are not always physical things. We tend to hold onto many things: offences, grudges, anger, and bitterness. We may even find ourselves holding onto the past and not really living in the present, let alone planning for the future. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."
We are supposed to let go of these things and not hold onto them. If we hold onto them we do not move toward the future, and sometimes we do not even believe we have a different future. We get into this pattern of acceptance, this is the way it has always been so this is the way it will always be.
I was at a retreat last weekend and while I was there I realized I have been holding onto the belief that my health is what it is and had been in this cycle of acceptance, almost embracing it. God wants more for me than to be sick, injured and in pain all of the time. The future he has for me requires for me to be healthy, so I can let go of the past health issues and look forward to what God has for me. I am not telling you to ignore your health issues, I am saying believe for something better for your future. Do not let the past or even your present determine your future!
Personal Note: If you are having a hard time letting go of something whether it be physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually know that you can do that today. You do not need to hold onto things so tightly, it tends to hold us back from better things in the future. If you don't think you can do it alone, reach out to someone you know or myself and together let go and embrace a new future for yourself.