Let go!

   There is a cartoon that comes to me as I meditate this morning. I see a man clinging to a small bush on the side of a cliff. He has fallen off the edge and all that is keeping him from falling to the bottom is this piece of root sticking out of the wall of the drop off. In desperation, he calls out "Help" and the voice from the top simply says, "let go". Dismissing the advice, and not wanting to look down at his fate, he calls out again and again the voice comes back, "let go".  Little does the man know that a ledge is only inches below his feet, and, that by following the instruction from above, he will find safety. Instead he pleads, "Is anybody else up there?"

   What do I need to let go of?

   The woman in the portion of Scripture, that was the reading for this morning, gave up her pride, as she fell at the feet of Jesus and begged for the life of her daughter, who was dying. Pride is also a big stumbling block for me, and I can relate to this.

   Standing right there next to pride is the feeling of self-sufficiency. I can do it, I can solve it, I can, I can... If I can put just a little more effort into that, I can get it done. There is nothing that I cannot do, or cannot be, if I can just channel my mind and body to do it, and I can do it by myself. I need to let that go, for sure.

   Akin to those two ideas, is the notion that my worth is tied up in what I can do, or who I am. Whether it be on the golf course or tennis court or even in writing this blog post, I can let this define my net worth. These things cause an up and down roller coaster of existence, and they need to go.

   Added to the above is the trust that I have in material things and even health. These are truly blessings from the hand of God, but the trust in them should have no place in my life. That sort of trust is uncalled for.

   And there are others: holding on to the past, holding on to some scenario of the future, even grasping tightly the things of the present. These don't belong either.

   Truthfully, when I think on these things, and others that God brings to my mind, I want to say, "is anybody else up there?" I am comfortable in my ways, and the unknown of letting go, is not appealing.

   BUT, I hear two words on this subject, and they appear to come from above,

   LET GO