Letting Go

Life gives us opportunity after opportunity to practice Letting Go, doesn’t it?

We let go as our lives change from one season to the next. As parents, we may want to cling to something about one phase or another as our children grow up. Infants are so tiny and precious! Oh he’s so cute learning to walk… losing his first tooth!, etc. …. but then, as we let go, something even better generally comes along. Not having to carry the newborn all day, no need to pack a diaper bag, no hearing Why? Why? Why? with the toddler. We let go of one stage and then get to enjoy the next (mostly).

Two of our six kids, Jop and Nathan, are in college at the moment and Anne will be heading off in a few short months. And Jop and Simi live so far from us, that every time we have to part with them, we know it will be for many months at a time. The letting go of children as they make their way into the world is complex and can be filled with moments of grief and fear. But the more we choose to lean into faith … the smoother the process we have discovered.

That really goes for everything, the more we are confident that we are doing our best, and then have faith and believe that everything is as it’s meant to be, the easier life is. The less struggle we face, and the fewer problems we create for ourselves.

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Two people facing the same situation can have very different experiences. I remember asking Hans ten years ago how he manages, for hours at a time, stuck in tiny airplane seats, smushed into seats too small for his six foot three inch body? He said the hard part is when the person in front of him tilts his seat all the way back, pressing even further into his knees. I just surrender and go to sleep he would say. And I could not relate at all, and I’d think Yeah, well …. I’m not a surrender-er. (Of course I’m also a foot shorter and almost never travel anymore, so I don’t have that particular problem.)

But over the years I’ve shifted. I surrender now. (Mostly. Errr … sometimes.) I let go. Because I’ve faced enough hardships to see that resistance to what is only makes the hardship that much harder.

Try our best. Then lean into faith. ASK for what we want and need. Then trust that God and the universe have the details handled. That is the goal.

Through growth and death, through aging and changes in life circumstances, we face letting go of people in our lives. We may also be working on letting go of feelings and attitudes that don’t serve us or those around us. Fears, worries, judgements, desire for control… though unseen, these can keep us tied up in knots until we master letting go of them.

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We also let go of things which matter to us. Maybe we are doing some spring cleaning, or purging some old belongings, and we have to ask ourselves if these things will add value to our lives, or if it’s time to let them go. This can be painful sometimes, but it also allows life to flow. Ushering out the old or unneeded gives more room to breath, and enjoy, and creates space for new things to flow in.

What are you letting go of right now?

If you would like to come out to the farm for some coaching, or enjoy coaching from your own home online, please text me, I would love to partner with you in letting go. – Katherine 770-335-0025