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I have always had a hard time letting go. It was more of a struggle letting people go than letting things go. It was a huge deal to let go of parts of me.
Losing parts of me was getting way too personal.
When I was a small child, a dentist snatched a baby tooth without telling me what was coming. He then presented it to me in a little plastic box that said, “It’s Mine.”
I was not amused. Even at that very young age, I had the sense if something was truly mine, then it should not be taken without my express approval.
However, life is not like that. In order to grow, we must give up what we now have. The body is in constant renewal with the old quietly and efficiently falling away and new cells already in place to begin their time of service.
Even as you read or hear this, skin cells are quietly falling away and being replaced with new ones.
So why do I resist giving up anything? Satan’s playbook has never changed from his first appearance to Adam and Eve.
He tempts us to believe God has not provided for us or if He did give us anything, it was not enough.
He tempts us to believe God will not provide — that He simply takes and leaves us. We see everything as a loss instead of simply a change.
We resist growing because we believe ourselves happy or at least on some level, satisfied with what we have. If it is not perfect, at least, it is familiar.
Change can be both exciting and scary. As I have gotten older and battled different medical conditions, change has become a regular part of life.
God has mercifully guided me through each one, including how to adjust my lifestyle with each new challenge.
God has also amazed me with how He continues to work through me when I think I have nothing left to give.
He gives me the loaves and fishes and when I am willing to let go of them, He produces not only continuing sustenance for me, but He feeds others too.
When I look back at this past year alone, I am astounded to see what God did, when I truly felt I had little or nothing to offer.
In a natural world, it appears the past few weeks have brought significant losses. I am still processing, adjusting and reflecting.
This world is troublesome. I can’t sugarcoat that.
But praise God, I live with My Creator, Who is on the inside of me. And that is always where the new life comes from — the inside.
So I wait to see what He has in mind. Growth is not always instant or pleasant, but always worth it in the end.
What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived — the things God has prepared for those who love Him!
1 Corinthians 2:9
I look forward to that!
