Good morning Ladies ~ Today we have an inspiring piece by Shari Hervold. Let us open hearts and ask Jesus to bless her words to us at this holiday season.
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Let It Go!
In 2013 the Disney Corporation released a fantasy film entitled, Frozen, based on Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen. The film featured a song entitled, "Let it Go," which speaks to the heart of every individual who is holding on to things, memories, emotions, anything from one's past that needs to be released before (s)he can move forward in wholeness. Look at some of the lyrics from this song: "Let it go, let it go, Can't hold it back anymore; Let it go, let it go, Turn away and slam the door..."
The words of that last line sound pretty tough to a widow, don't they? Slam the door on my past? Forget that I had a loving husband? No, Never! In fact, it's not about forgetting at all, but rather about turning yourself from looking backward and start facing forward. I know that each widow reading this in America wants to celebrate this Thanksgiving with a heart full of gratitude and enjoy each moment, yet some find so very hard to do because all they can focus on is what was and not what is. The prophet Isaiah in the 43rd chapter of his book admonishes us to not dwell on the past. God is going to do a new thing.
I have read the writings of and listened to widows who have spoken of the challenges of letting go of their life prior to becoming a widow. Let's just think about the past for a moment. I trust that when do you that you, like all of us who have had to move forward from something painful, recognize the unalterable truth that the past is over and gone. While the repercussions and memories of the past may follow us, the past is not reality. Have you ever considered Ruth, the widowed daughter-in-law of Naomi, whose story is told in the Bible in the book that bears her name? Don't you know that she probably considered her life as good as over when she was widowed young and childless in a culture that didn't always treat widows well. She found herself poor with no means of support except what she could scrimp together through hard, backbreaking work in the fields. But, because of her faith in God and His provision for her, He brought a godly man of means into her life. She found joy again in marriage and the new thing that God did for her was to allow her to conceive and bear a son; a son that was in the lineage of Jesus Christ.
One woman stated that "When we hold on to the past we are holding onto a part of life that we will never get back and that prevents us from progressing forward and realizing our future." I suggest that as long as we cling to the past, it makes us forget that we even have a future. Pain and loss are a part of life and sometimes that pain, especially the pain of losing someone dear to us, makes it all the more difficult for us to think clearly. We must allow Christ to transform the pain into healthy memories freeing us to face forward towards the future as we live moment by moment, grateful for the present and His presence in it. Let me encourage you with the words that God spoke to Joshua when he had to lead the children of Israel after the death of Moses, "...Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
Are you ready to let go of the past and move forward into the future that God has prepared for you, knowing that you are not alone? I encourage you to ask Him right now to reveal to you the things that He wants for you to let go of. Then, move out in faith to the bigger and brighter things that He has prepared for you.
Shari Hervold
