You can live your life angry, bitter, mad at somebody or even guilty, not letting go of your own mistakes, but you won’t receive the good things God has in store.
One of the things I try to work with white people on is letting go of our criteria about how people of color give us feedback. We have to build our stamina to just be humble and bear witness to the pain we’ve caused.
I was trying to be 27 at age 47, but God had to get rid of my vanity. I had trouble letting go of the old Lex physically. My human fleshly nature didn’t want to let go of what had come to be billed as ‘The Total Package.’ I guess God had to help me get rid of the last remnant of that vanity and pride.
If I’ve learned anything from TJ, it’s that life is a fine balance of holding on, letting go, and never looking back unless it’s to admire how far you’ve come.
I do not propose to solve the Israeli-Palestine conflict. But I do think the world would be a vastly safer place – and maybe a happier one, too – if more of us learned to see beyond our biases, our preferences, and became optimists capable of letting go.
I was raised in a little church, the Grundy Methodist Church, that was very straight-laced, but I had a friend whose mother spoke in tongues. I was just wild for this family. My own parents were older, and they were so over-protective. I just loved the ‘letting go’ that would happen when I went to church with my friend.
Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.
Most people believe that results matter. The idea that results matter is one that you have to keep letting go of. And most of the time, I believe it.
Being deeply contented with God in my everyday life is a focused attitude. It is always available. It means practicing letting go of my obsession with how I’m doing. It means training myself to learn to actually be present with people, and seeking to love them.
Forgiveness means letting go of the past.
By letting go of my fears and concerns, I’ve gained so much happiness and freedom. With that freedom I’ve also gained confidence.
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