Just Let It Go

Do you ever find yourself lying in bed before you fall asleep feeling like there is a ton of bricks on your chest? It's like you've spent the whole day juggling the bricks. Then someone from the crowd throws in one to many for you to handle, and they all come piling down. I'm a classic brick juggler. I always think I can handle everything that comes my way, but then find myself flat on my back, out of breath, and covered in all the things I was trying to control.

Like so many people I live by the phrase "I can do all things", but forget about the second half of "through Christ who strengthens me". That's what I realize when I'm lying on the floor under all the debris. I try to handle everything on my own, and forget that God is essential in everything I do. But the bricks are still there, and they can not be ignored. It's time to Let Go, and Let God.

To 'Let Go, and Let God' is to stop, realize you've tried to control too many things on your own, and move over to let God take control. I sit in a quiet place and look at my fists. They are clinched tightly around all my problems. My nails dig into my palms, as the stress feels like it is going to swallow me whole. Then I take a deep breath, tell God I can't do it anymore, open up my hands, and visualize the problems falling to the floor with a loud crash. For those problems that cause me the most grief, I throw them to the wall like a dish smashing into a million pieces at the impact. I give all my problems to Him, all my anxieties to Him, all my responsibilities to Him, all my worries to Him. I check my breathing to see if my chest is free from the bricks. If not, then I do it over and over and over again till I feel free.

While the problems don't necessarily automatically disappear in God's hand, my impulses to control them have. Instead of juggling the bricks, I focus on the capable hands I gave them to. The temptation to pick up the bricks again is strong, but I leave them at the feet of God and walk away. Life no longer becomes overwhelming when I keep giving it all to God. "For my yolk is easy, and my burden light" when I walk with God by my side.