Aug 23, 2010
Why Letting Go Feels Terrible but Isn’t All That Bad
We moved to Connecticut about a year ago, and a big part of that move involved letting go of things: our lifestyle in the country (including a garden), our professional networks, our home, our few friends, proximity to family, and the list goes on. Toss in the stress of selling our home and moving, and there were times when we felt crushed by the pressure.
Letting go feels terrible sometimes, even if we know that we’re following God’s lead into something else. That’s because we have a period of time when we’re empty, holding nothing. That is, we’re stripped of the many things we value.
When we move and let go of things, we have an opportunity to root ourselves in our unmovable and unshakable God.
Last year I had sleepless nights as rejection letters replaced my regular pay check and our house sat two months longer than we would have liked. We had to start over professionally and personally from scratch in a new place.
In the midst of that emptiness and brokenness, God showed up in new ways that I still cling to in dry times.
And then he began to fill us up again with new things we like to do, new friends, and new opportunities. Between the growth and the new blessings that came, I realized that letting go wasn’t all that bad after all, even if it was tough at the time.
It’s not like we had a carbon copy of our old life after we moved, but once we let go of one set of things, we found both a deeper connection with God and new things to love. The trick is to remain dependent upon and full of God as we embrace these new things.
It’s also important to remember God’s provision for us so that we’ll be ready to move when he calls us to something else.
I think anyone can let go when we see what’s ahead: quitting one job when the new job offer is firmly in hand; exchanging one level of community for a version with more of everything. From the distance of the internet, though it seems to me you’ve embarked on Abraham’s kind of journey:
“Leave your family, your people, and go to the place I will show you.”
“How will I know when I ge there?”
“I’ll let you know when you do.”
That’s when faith is spelled “R-I-S-K.” Godspeed.
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I love this post, Ed. No carbon copy — it’s our heart that changes.
I am familiar with that empty feeling after letting go. It sometimes feels like I just jumped over a cliff!
Then, He catches me right when I think I will hit the ground. It does feel terrible to let go — hopefully, I can learn to let go sooner before I climb too high away from a heart that draws near to God.
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Beautiful analogy Bonnie. It’s true, when we hold on too long we run the risk of climbing away. I’m so glad you popped by to share your experiences. It sounds like we’ve had some similar aspects to our journeys.
Ray, Thanks for your kind words. I spent the first few months after our move immersed in the Abraham story. It really felt like I was living my own version of it.
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Thanks for this, Ed. Having had to let go of our life in Baltimore and move to Long Island on less than 30 days notice we have been through a fairly intense process of letting go. God is definitely at work through all this, and is teaching us a great deal… but it is good to know that we are not alone in this journey.
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