Letting go can be one of the hardest things to do for most. The pain of walking away from something or someone you’ve gained attachment to can be very difficult. Especially if, the bond has formed over a period of time. However, no matter the emotional pain level, letting go is necessary to move forward. In order to make room for new things or people to enter into your life, you must let go of the old.
Mark 2:22 (NIV) “And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins."
I can give plenty of examples of letting go. For instance, that old shirt that you’ve had with the holes in it, that’s faded, but it’s your favorite shirt…let it go. Those clothes in your closet that you haven’t worn in years…let them go. They could be useful to someone else who needs them. Take them to a shelter or to a Goodwill; those clothes that you’re holding hostage someone is praying for because they are lacking. Example two, that relationship that’s toxic…let it go. You’ve been praying for God to send you a husband or a wife, but you’re holding on to the hope and possibility of a relationship that you know is dead to come back to life; don’t be upset when I tell you this, but you need to let it go. God is not going to send you someone to get tangled up in your confusion. You can’t move forward in a new healthy relationship, if you’re still holding on to the toxicity of the old one. You have to let go of the past in order to prepare and make room for the future.
“We can't be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don't have something better.” ― C. Joybell C.
Letting go does not just pertain to relationships, but also to negative emotions such as anger, unforgiveness, self-doubt, hurt, guilt, or shame. In order to move forward in life, you can’t hold to those negative beliefs that will keep you stagnant. You must let go of those toxic beliefs, change your perspective, and allow yourself to adopt new ideas that will help you to grow. I once saw this picture on social media which stated “sometimes holding on does more damage than letting go”. The illustration was of this person with a rope around his/her wrist trying to hold tightly to the rope, causing it to bruise; however, once the rope was released there was no more struggle, the redness of the bruise had disappeared. In my opinion, this picture gave a very accurate illustration of the pain that holding on to something so tightly can cause an individual. Sometimes, we don’t realize the damage that we are doing to ourselves mentally, emotionally, and/or physically by not wanting to release things or people that no longer serve us. As hard as it may be, letting go can be one of the best decisions we can make in our lives.
I encourage you to examine your life, and ask yourself what are some things or some people who you may need to release in order to make room for new; new opportunities, new relationships, and growth.
