I am about to send my second child to Kindergarten, a rite of passage that is as much for the parent as for the child. I’m reminded of the popular social media meme that says the trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let things go. While this is true in my front yard, it is more challenging in the heart.
Nature in the Northern Hemisphere this time of year does show us how to let go. I live in Alaska, where long-timers say that fall is the last weekend of September. The leaves that show us the loveliness of letting go are all underfoot by October.
Jesus also addresses letting go: “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25).
You’ll hear phrases like “let go and let God” or “Jesus take the wheel,” but I don’t think God wants us to completely abandon ourselves. God has given us brains and hearts, ideas and courage. What if letting go was more of a cooperation with God than a mindless surrender?
This message is excerpted from “Letting go” by Lisa A. Smith in the September/October 2021 Gather magazine. Today is the Fall Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere.
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