Let Go: Fighting the Monster

I'm a little late on this update but it doesn't mean that I haven't spent all week wrestling with a giant monster. Unless you are the OCD- throw everything away before it hits your desk- kind of personality, you may be able to relate with the monster that I battled all week long.

*Insert creepy music here.* The monster otherwise known as my desk. I don't know how it happens, but within a matter of days my desk can get piled so high with stacks of papers! Some papers sit tall on the top of the desk while others sneak their way into the black holes in my desk drawers. No matter my efforts, it seems that my desk always becomes the magnet of all things paper. It's a never ending battle for a teacher, especially an English teacher, and a battle that I lose. So this week was my week to wrestle and dominate the monster....



 

After many paper cuts and hours of sorting and shredding, I can confidently say that I conquered and defeated the monster! I let go of pounds of paper and I feel lighter because of it. Monday when I walk into my class and prepare for first period, I have a feeling that I will have a smile on my face because I will be able to focus on the things that matter rather than be consumed with fighting the monster!

(This is where my "after picture" should go; however, when I finally finished, I was so tired that I turned out the lights and went home. The last thing on my mind was taking another picture. Sorry.)

I know it's a simple post with not much depth to it; perhaps it's disappointing or anticlimactic, but I am realizing that some of the smallest burdens become the biggest barriers to living WELL. 

Let Go: of what you hope for

Waiting. For kids, it is nearly impossible. For adults, sometimes it seems like it's all we do.

Granted, there is this anticipation in waiting like when a little kid has to wait weeks on end before opening up a Christmas gift. The waiting, starring, and shaking of the box makes the gift that much bigger and better once it is finally opened. Then there are other times when waiting keeps you up at night and turns your stomach into knots. It's not the kind of waiting that sits in the pit of your stomach like eager butterflies anxious to flutter away. Instead it's the "I'm going to be sick" kind of waiting. You think, God, I hope you've got this because I'm not sure what I'm going to do if you don't. Yet even still, deep down in the deepest part of you, you know he does have it and so you keep waiting... for something, anything.

I think that is what I've watched my dad go through in the last few months. Waiting. At times I'm sure he was the anxious little kid waiting to unwrap his Christmas gift and then there were other times when the "I'm going to be sick" feelings started to creep in. To be honest, I watched nervously wondering when he would crack but instead he just kept waiting.

"Wait, it's August and you need a job by the end of the month?! What are you going to do? What's your plan B, dad?" I asked.

He always replied, "I have no plan B." Even in the midst of his uncertainty, he was certain that God had it figured out.

And of course, God did.

Like he always does when you trust Him and let go.

The present might not look the way we expected it to. Sometimes the present is smaller, more fragile. Other times we look at it and we think, how am I ever going to use this? I don't need this! But even after we unwrap it, whether it is exactly what we hoped for or not, we know in the pit of our stomach that somehow it will be exactly what we will need and we will know when to use it. We just have to figure out how to let go of what we hoped for and embrace what we have been given.

My dad let go of what he thought his life was supposed to look like; how he imagined career choices would turn out. He let God do his thing and of course, right on time God gave my dad a job that is a perfect fit for him. He just had to wait.... and let go...

Love you, Dad. I'm excited to see how God will use you in this next adventure!
 

When we let go of what we hoped for and we take hold of what we have been given... the gift is greater than we could of ever dreamed.

Goal:

What is one thing in your life that you expected or hoped would be different?

(Motherhood, adult friendship, finances, career choices, marriage, God, feeling alone, etc.)

 

Let go of what you hoped for...

 

And challenge yourself to love what you are given.

and if you are waiting...

remember, the waiting makes the gift that much better. 



Let Go ------> A new series

 

I had a list of all these things I wanted to do this summer. Mostly, it was a list of things I wanted to let go of: closets stuffed full of clothes I don't wear, desks full of papers I don't read, emails that cause morning chaos, books sitting in "read" and "unread" stacks. All of this stuff takes up space in my life and most of it just weighs me down. I look around my home and most of what I own I never use. Part of me longs to let it all go and live with just enough to fill a backpack.

But it's not just stuff that fills up space in my life. There are also life choices, lies that we accept as truth, memories, conversations, and circumstances that sit- and all of this fills up life. Everything in our lives takes up space and we choose to let it, but what if we chose differently? What if we chose to let go of everything that filled up space in our home and heart that was ugly, heavy, or not useful? What would life look like?

If I'm honest, my goal this summer was to lighten the load; free up the space in my home and heart.... I had great intentions, but I failed. I keep holding onto the junk. Now, I look at the calendar and realize that this summer is officially gone...

...but my chance to let go is never gone. We all have things we need to let go of. The tighter we hold onto them, the tighter we hold onto this world and we all know this world will not satisfy. So I've decided that maybe if I go on record, that perhaps my drive to let go will move from wishful thinking to actual DOING. So here it is.

Goal:

1. Let go of one thing a week until Christmas.

2. Blog about it. Keep record of it. Evaluate whether letting go makes a distinct difference in my life.

3. Encourage others to lighten their load too.

 

What would life look like if we got rid of all of the ugly in our home and hearts?

 

Ready, set,

 

LET GO!