Letting Go

Philippians 3:13, 14 "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

When you struggle with things in life you are often told to "Hang on." Hanging on seems like the logical thing to do. Yet sometimes it just isn't possible. In fact sometimes it's just wrong. Sometimes we need to let go.

I can't hang on any more. I need desperately to let go. I need to distance myself from things in the present and in particular things of the past.

That's probably the worst part. Letting go of things of the present is easier. They are happening now. You can influence and often control the outcome. You can wake up today and say, "I'm going to change my lifestyle," and actually begin.

You can stand in front of a mirror and see things that can be changed today. Your weight, the way you dress, your hairstyle and your attitude. But letting go of the past-now that's a challenge.

I carry with me way too many things of the past. I flash back in seconds to a memory I apparently can't let go of. At the same time it's a memory I can't do a thing about. It's done. It's over. I can't change it. I need to let go.

Perhaps you find yourself spending time thinking about the way things were. Maybe you are longing for the "good old days." You're holding onto pleasant memories, moments that made you who you are today. That's fine. It's a part of the fabric of you.

Maybe you are holding on to things of the past that are not so pleasant. Things you did, said, or had done to you and it is stealing away the precious time you have now. You are hanging onto destructive things that you should let go of. You are not just hanging on, you are preventing yourself from moving forward.

Letting go of those things would free your heart and make it available to embrace someone or something more important. The fall won't kill you. It will heal you.