Holding On

Have you ever held onto something?  A grudge from the past?  Painful memories?  Resentment?  Unresolved anger?  Are you holding onto something right now?  Sometimes we hold on to things - clench them in our fists even - because we are afraid of what may come if we let go.  When our hands are full of holding on to things, we are unable to receive anything else.

When we hold onto the past, we cannot really move forward.  We can tell ourselves that we are, but in reality we are just dragging along a heavy piece of baggage going in circles. 

Take for example you are rushing and you notice that the train is coming.  You are running up the stairs.  The train arrives, the doors open, people come out, and the passengers board.  You tap your pass on the sensor, and run through the turnstile.  You run straight for the nearest car door.  You make it, but a bag you are holding onto gets stuck.  What do you do?  Do you let go?  Do you hold on?  If you don't let go, your hand will be stuck.  If you let go you can maneuver your hand into the train.  What do you do?  Similarly, if we do not let go of the things that are weighing us down, we can never be free.     

God created us out of love for love, and to live life fully and in complete freedom.  And in order to live in this freedom, we must learn how to let go so that we may be filled with the Holy Spirit, with what is good, true and beautiful, to be filled with love. 

What are you holding onto?  Ask the Father to help you let go.

Father, I know that you created me for love. Give me the courage to let go of what I have been holding onto that has been weighing me down.  Teach me to trust in you and to trust that by letting go, I am not really losing anything, but rather gaining everything.

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