I was challenged today by something I saw on Twitter from Inky Johnson (@inkyjohnson). In the video clip I watched, he said that “sacrifice is a prerequisite to growth.: But, the homerun quote was, “At a certain point, the old you has to die off for the new you to become.” Wow!

I don’t know about you, but even as I’ve grown significantly in the past few years, I still struggle on the regular with the idea of slaying the “old you” that still rises up within me. In the Bible, we’re taught that, “the old has become new.” But, even in God’s measure of “new,” it is largely dependent not on what we take hold of, but more what we are able to LET GO OF! The Pharisees couldn’t let go of their past. Other Jews struggled to let go of all they’d ever known. Even the disciples struggled in many ways with the idea that Jesus was bringing “something new!”

Maybe, just maybe this time of confinement, quarantine, inconvenience, and struggle for many of us is just so we’ll understand how important it is to let go of some things? Maybe, God is reminding us that we are not really in control anyway? This is not an original idea, but I do still wonder whether Inky’s words hit me so profoundly because I still have so much letting go to do…

Won’t you join me in truly searching your heart and your head, and asking our Maker what else he would like for you to let go? I’m as anxious as anyone to move forward, and move OUT of this time of upheaval medically and socially. But, maybe we don’t get to move forward until we let go of some things that keep holding us back?

I’ll pray for you in this endeavor. I’d be grateful if you would do likewise for me! Stay safe, stay well, and keep letting go!