Letting go. Letting go of bad friends, last year's clothes, and money - easy. Letting go of bad habits, extra pounds and our kids? Not so much. Why is it so hard? This thought raced around and around my mind today as we were driving to Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, TX for a Pigskin Preview Day (Woo-hoo! Football!) with Daniel, our middle son. All of my boys are still at home and despite all my joking about having the nest too 'well-feathered', I can think of nothing that brings me more joy than having them choose to stay at home while they attend a local college and make their future plans.
But now, there is a strong possibility that we could soon be one little birdie short of a full nest. The opportunity is awesome and his desire to move on to bigger challenges and new horizons is evident. But why now? And why does it seem more of a challenge to mom than son? After all, we have settled into a familiar routine of classes and jobs, shuffling cars to see who gets to drive the one with the best heater, eating dinner together and just hanging out. A controlled chaos! Could it be that letting go comes with too many fears? The fear of losing that control, however tight our grip may be?
Lots of fears lately. Afraid of heights, especially when I look down instead of up. Fear of finding out that the things and people you thought were forever, really aren't. Fear of trusting, people and God. Again. Fear of losing (the battle), fear of gaining (the weight), LOL!
FEAR. Someone once told me that FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. It's when we start looking at everything but the truth that fear bangs the gavel. And everything is not always what it seems to be; especially when you invite God into your courtroom.
The university's coach quoted Scripture during his address to a room full of young men and their families who may be challenged to face their own mountains: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). One translation states it like this, "God's Spirit doesn't make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-control." The love of our Creator did not create us to surrender to fear but to let love control our fears. So can losing control really be such a bad thing?
And when you rise...stand up! Shine! Your new day is dawning. The glory of the LORD shines brightly on you" (Isaiah 60:1)!
