The rope strains as it’s pulled tight on either side. A ribbon
in the middle shows the progress of one side against the other – back and
forth, back and forth. Lingering on one side for a bit longer, then yanked back
in the other direction. On and on the game goes. No one seems to win.
I’m often engaged in this endless game of tug-of-war, a war
between what I should do and what I want to do.
Living with open hands has never been easy for me. I want to
hold tight – to my “stuff,” to my kids, to my home, to my comfort, even
to my burdens and my problems. I want to fix things
myself. Sometimes my attitude can be easily
summed up in a favorite vocabulary word of a two-year-old: “Mine.”
But then there are those moments when the light clicks on
and I realize it’s not mine. It’s all God’s. And the problems and burdens? I
don’t need to carry them or try to fix them myself either, because God doesn’t
need my help. He’s waiting for me to release my white-knuckled grip, wanting me to grasp for His strength instead of my own.
The freedom that comes from realizing this is nothing short
of amazing. I wish I could say that I feel this freedom all the time. But most
of the time, I’m still learning to let go, constantly reminding myself to
release to God what was really His in the first place. Learning to go to Him with
my worries and problems, instead of freaking out first and remembering to pray
after all else fails.
Lord, teach me to release my grasp on the things of this world. As I
learn to cling to You, help me to point others to Your light and Your
salvation. True freedom comes as I let go of my wants and desires and replace
them with Yours. I can let go, because You will never let go of me.
This is an entry for Five Minute Friday. Every Friday hundreds of writers
join in this five minute writing exercise at Lisa-Jo Baker's blog, Tales from a Gypsy Mama.
Yes! Yes! Yes! This is me too!! I just can't let go. I have to control everything. My heart says give it to God, but my brain says no! I wish I didn't struggle with this. But those moments when we give it all to him... even if it's only for a minutes.... they are such sweet moments. I am working on increasing those moments. I can see my progress. It's so slow... but I'm so much better at releasing things to God today then I was a year ago. Thank you so much for putting into words what my heart feels on a daily basis. I love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement, Michelle! It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who struggles with this. We're all works in progress!
DeleteSo true.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Denise!
DeleteThat tight grip on life causes so much tension in my body. I need to remember to let go every day. Thanks for reminding me.
ReplyDeleteSo true! Thanks for taking the time to read and comment! :-)
DeleteThank you for sharing. I found you on FMF. As women, I think we sometimes feel the need to "own it"...the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sometimes, we need to release it to someone else be it a friend, foe, or God. ~Karyn B.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Karyn. FMF is such a great community! Blessings to you!
DeleteThanks for the reminder. Nice writing!
ReplyDelete