Friday, January 30, 2015

Just Let Go

     It is a beautiful spring day: the sun is shining and the sky is bright blue. The birds are singing and there is a gentle breeze. There is a lake, surrounded by weeping willow trees. There is a rowboat on the lake with two passengers: you and God.


     God is seated in the boat, where He can row and steer. You are seated in the front, where God has arranged soft pillows so you can lean back and relax. You are not quite comfortable with this arrangement.

     A conversation begins: God is encouraging you to lean back and enjoy the ride. You protest, telling Him that, “He should be the one relaxing on the pillows, and you should be rowing.”

     He smiles and tells you once again, to “sit back”.

     You tell Him that, “after all, He is God and you are His servant. He shouldn’t have to do all this work. You then suggest that maybe He could let you help by taking just one oar.  He can have one and you can have one. Seems like the perfect solution!”

     Smiling once again, He responds with stronger words.  “Just let go!”

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     This was an image described by a friend many years ago.  

     She had lifted me in prayer and God placed this upon her heart and asked that she share it with me.   I was touched deeply by the image God had given to her and my eyes filled with tears. I knew this message was from God because only He and one other person knew how much I loved weeping willow trees. The fact that He had included them in this image, proved to me how much I was known by God; that I mattered, that He cared.

     The image of God, myself and the rowboat, has stayed with me all these years. I have learned so much from it and have shared it with friends.

     We want so much to control things: our lives, the lives of our loved ones, today, next week, next year – even God. We think we know what is best and try at times to make things work out to that end. The truth is, we don’t always know what is best for us or our loved ones. We see a little tiny piece of the picture and believe we have all the answers.

     Our God is calling us to sit back, relax and trust Him; to realize that He is in charge, even when life’s circumstances suggest otherwise. He asking us to let go of the oars and believe that He will bring about good from each and every circumstance. He wants us to grow in grace and virtue and that does not happen without challenges and adversity. He wants us to trust in His ordaining and permissive will and to remember He is with us. He wants us to exercise our faith in Him by believing and trusting in His love for us. He wants us to become saints, and that is not something we can do on our own. We must surrender the oars of control and allow Him to steer our little boat, realizing He knows our destination and the best route to get there.

     Letting go and trusting God is difficult for us to do. God does not want us to struggle through life but to sit back and enjoy the ride. May we grow in trust that one day we will be able to relax as we lay back on the pillows, with our hand skimming through the water, as God rows our boat.              
   

1 comment:

  1. What a beautiful image Avia Joy, but I, like you, have a difficult time relaxing and making God do all the work! We must heed…"Be still and know that I am God!" Please God, help me let go!

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