Let It Go

Yesterday I had a much-needed haircut.  Because of vacation schedules and other appointments, I was off my regular schedule for haircuts and the trim was overdue.  Those of you with shorter hairstyles like mine can probably relate when I say that, particularly for short hair, missing a regular trim and having extra hair to deal with can be a real problem.  It was a relief to get back on schedule yesterday.  To get a good trim. To let go of all that extra hair!

Lately I've been cleaning out drawers and closets in anticipation of our move to Spartanburg.  In the process, I have discovered all sorts of unnecessary, no-longer-needed things.  And much like the relief I felt after having a much needed haircut, getting rid of all those things I no longer need or use has also been a great relief. 

Letting it go.  What a relief.  No longer burdened by all this stuff I don't need, don't want to pack, and don't even really have a place for!  Just put it in a box and donate it, or put it in the garbage.  It really is therapeutic.

If only it were as easy to let go of the few pounds I've managed to gain this summer.  But that's a subject for another day.

We're often bogged down by stuff.  Our drawers and closets get cluttered up by all the clothes and kitchen gadgets and knick-knacks we have acquired and can't quite let go of.  Our hair is weighted down because we haven't trimmed off the excess.  We are slowed down by the extra pounds we carry around.  It's much like setting out on a vacation with twice the amount of luggage we need.  If we had to carry our own luggage everywhere we went, we would take less of it, wouldn't we?

This is the picture the writer of Hebrews gives us. 

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and the sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."  (Hebrews 12:1 NASB)

Can you imagine running a race while carrying all your luggage with you?  I'm not a runner, but I have notice that runners don't carry any baggage with them.  They wear lightweight shoes and clothing.  They aren't bogged down with any extras.  That's the message to us here.  Let it go.

We may not be eligible for an episode of "Hoarders", but if we're honest with ourselves, we will admit that we all have accumulated far more than we need.  Beyond that, many of us are weighted down with far greater burdens.  Worry.  Fear.  Grief. Betrayal. Insecurity. We've been hurt.  We've been abandoned.  We carry hurts and scars that no one sees, but they are there.

No matter what weighs us down, there's One who is ready to help.  Ready for us to let it go.  Ready to take our burdens and our baggage.  Because He cares.

So let it go.

"Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you."  (1 Peter 5:7 NASB)