Now please don’t start singing that song from Frozen, but to be honest I can’t think of a better theme song ...
"Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door"
I remember during an episode of the Big Bang Theory, Penny was trying to help the socially awkward main character Sheldon, learn this new antidote of “letting go” to help manage his emotions. Well, if you are familiar with the show and the main character, you would know that the exercise ended up causing Penny much frustration and Sheldon was still unable to learn the simple emotional aptitude of letting go.
The main reason that he struggled was because he lacked practice in this area. He was not in the habit of differentiating the matters that should consume his consciousness and energy, and the matters that should be forgotten.
Letting go is more than forgetting though, it is a deliberate effort to release something that you have no control over and to keep pressing on.
In the book of Genesis, Chapter 19, the account is told of God’s directive to Lot for him and his family to flee Sodom and Gomorrah. In obedience they made a quick exit but Lot’s wife, for reasons the Bible did not say, looked back, and was turned to a pillar of salt. Maybe she looked back in sympathy or even scorn for its inhabitants, or even personal sadness for leaving her place of familiarity. Ultimately, the outcome for desiring or deliberating on the past - a place where God instructed them to leave - caused her demise.
Life nor God owes anything to anyone and when the best made plans do not manifest as one hoped, it is okay to let go and move on. Letting go means, releasing what you wanted or hoped for, and pursuing a new dream or hope.
In life, to let ‘it’ go, (whatever your ‘it’ is), simply means releasing the obsolete version and downloading the upgraded version that germinated from the 'it' experience. Letting go of people, things, dreams, and ideas that no longer serve you is a great sign of emotional maturity.
People who are unable to let go, will find themselves stuck or progressing very slowly. Even those who hold on to an achievement and become consumed with that single moment are unable to let go so that they can explore and embrace the greater things that the future may hold.
People will hurt and offend you (without cause) and still, your peace of mind requires that you forgive them and let it go.
It is not by chance that the phrase ‘let it go’, literally means, to release something from your grasp. I remember in that same episode of the Big Bang Theory, Penny tried to use a physical illustration to simulate the emotional act, by asking Sheldon to release a pen that he held in his hand. He began to negotiate about the necessity of letting it go and the fact that it was his favourite pen.
We treat our emotional baggage the same way sometimes, by finding every reason why we are justified in wallowing in grief and disappointment as we hold on to mindsets and people that are causing us harm.
You cannot take hold of anything new if your hands are already full. Likewise, you must release those parasitic thoughts and beliefs and take hold of new, positive reaffirming feelings and ideas.
That person does not need to apologise before you to let it go.
You do not need to be vindicated before you let it go.
You do not need to incubate hurt for years before you let it go.
Extend grace and forgiveness to yourself when needed and then let it go. You should never give a person or circumstance the authority to occupy your mind and emotions, to the point of immobilisation.
When you believe that God truly is in control of your life, then you happily toss every negative word, every unmet goal, and every failure into the Lord's arena and keep pressing on.
Practice does make perfect and the more you train yourself to not make a temporary problem or hiccup a permanent burden, then you are well poised to fully embrace every failure as a learning opportunity, and every disappointment as a new tool for the next task.
Always let God be your guide and counsel, and when He says go, as He told Lot, then just let it go.
Jesus is the one person to whom you should hold on and never let go!
Love Ya!
Krystal Baynes- Hoseinee
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