Christmas: A Time to Let Go – Let
God Handle It!
Dr. Fr. Davis George
“All the art of living lies in a
fine mingling of letting go and holding on.” – H. Havelock Ellis
Letting go is not so easy to do.
When we have made a heart connection with someone or some habit it can be
difficult to release that heartstring. “Some people believe holding on
and hanging in there, are signs of great strength. However, there are times when
it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it,” said Ann
Landers. “Once you realize you deserve a bright future, letting go of your dark
past is the best choice you will ever make,” said Roy T. Bennett. “The
beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of
yesterday,” said Steve Maraboli.
As the Bible says, “there is a time
to seek and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.” (Eccl
3:6) There is a time to hold on and a time to let go. We need to discern when
is the right time to let go and start something afresh which will bring meaning
and satisfaction to once life. Christmas is the time and the season
to let go and let God take charge. Ignite the big dream of becoming a better
person and having a better relationship.
On December 9, 1914, a spectacular
fire destroyed over half the buildings in Thomas Edison’s West Orange
Laboratory after an explosion in the film inspection building. Edison and
his wife rushed to the scene and his wife almost fainted seeing the massive
destruction of the years of work and accomplishment of her husband.
Holding her tight Thomas Edison told her “Darling all the mistakes of my past
are buried in the ashes.” Edison vowed, “Although I am over 67 years old,
I‘ll start all over again tomorrow.” Indeed he did! The prolific inventor
with 1093 patents, born in Milan Ohio, home-schooled by his mother will remain
a source of inspiration for all who wants to let go of the past and begin
again. “You have failed 1,000 times to discover light bulb,” his friend told
him. Thomas Edison replied “I have not failed. I've just found 1,000 ways
that won't work.”
Often we would like to cling on to
the past hurt feelings, failures, struggles, deficiencies and indulge in self-pity,
ruining the present and destroying the bright future that is in store for us;
cling on to our sad moments and broken experiences and allow ourselves to be
depressed. We may even like to hold on to our pride, ego, past glory,
self-righteousness and arrogance making us selfish intellectual giants.
Such are all knowing persons creating distance and division in
relationships. We need to learn to let go of our negative and depressive
feelings and be aggressively positive believing and trusting in God’s Providence.
The more we cling to the past, the more we dissipate our energy, optimism, and
potential. We need to change and explore new frontiers every day.
As St. Paul says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and
slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one
another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Eph
4:31-32)
Let us look at Nature and learn how
to let go and move forward. Night gives way to Day. Dawn will never arrive if
night never let's go and lets in daylight. Spring cannot come in if winter does
not go. Seed will not sprout, new shoots will not come if it will not break and
let go the outer cover of the seed. An egg will not hatch if it does not break
the shell from within and let go. Manhood will not come if Childhood does
not give way to adolescence and adulthood. Without death, there is no
resurrection. Life is a constant process of letting go and letting in and going
forward. Even the Universe is ever expanding and going forward. If you stop
this process you stagnate. There is only one person who does not progress and
that person is a dead person. He decays. The Sea of Galilee has life and the
Dead Sea has no life. The reason is that the Sea of Galilee has water flowing
in and flowing out. The Dead Sea has no water flowing out. Stagnant water kills
all the living things. We need to let go, outgrow and go forward.
Let go the old, obsolete and
redundant things of the past and explore new frontiers in the relationship.
Stagnation is death. Let go the baggage of hurt feelings and forgive each
other. The heavier the baggage, slower the pace. The more fat we are, more
chance to get all sorts of sickness. Shed your physical as well as emotional
weight and make life easier. Let go negative thoughts and let in positive
thoughts. Let go of pride and let in humility. Let go of
anger and let in forgiveness. Let go of indifference and let in
love. As the song goes, we are here trading our sorrows, sadness,
depression, failures, and shortcomings to buy better things in life and build
better relationships.
Christmas is the time when God sent
his only son to let go our sins and let in God’s love, forgiveness, and
life. God did not keep a record of the many times man refused to repent
and change. The season of Christmas is the most opportune time to let go
our hurt feelings and build better relationships. “God so loved the world that
he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not perish, but may have
eternal life.”(Jn 3:16) Let Go – Let Jesus Handle your life and
relationship. May Jesus be born in you today and every day of 2019.
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