Life is continually changing. Sometimes that change means letting go of something you’re not quite ready to let go of for something you’re totally unsure of. We are creatures of habit, and even the most adventurous of souls still hold on. We grow comfortable where we are and uncomfortable with what may be coming.

AND GOD SAYS LET GO OF THIS SO I CAN SHOW YOU MORE.

Have you ever enjoyed your weekend so much, you dreaded Monday that much more? Monday signifies it’s over. I just had one of those kinds of weekends. A weekend of some of my favorite people, in one of my favorite places, doing some of my favorite things. For Mother’s Day, we went on a family camping trip. We slept on the shores of the lake in the trees. We built campfires, caught and cooked fish, played games, drank coffee with the sunrise, and went on a sunset sail. It was perfection. I loved every minute of it. And this morning after only a few hours in my own bed, my alarm rang and my first thought was NO … I DON’T WANT MONDAY. I want my weekend back.

And again, God says LET GO OF THIS SO I CAN SHOW YOU MORE.

More life has been offered to you today … will you grab it, or will you begrudge the offering because of what has passed? Will you miss what you can have now because you’re missing what you used to have?

Nothing ever stays the same. You can’t live in a perpetual weekend without Monday coming. You can’t keep your kids little and never see them grow up. You can’t save a single thing you have today for a guaranteed tomorrow.

I wonder what you’re holding on to right now that only serves to hold you back from the future God is offering you? What would happen if you trusted God enough to loosen your grip and trust his plan? What would happen if you stepped boldly into a new season of life, appreciating the season you came out of without trying to drag it with you?

Some things God is offering you now can only be accepted with empty hands.

Empty hands only come as a result of letting go of what is.

Will you unclench your hands? Will you let go of this so God can show you more?

There’s a story I love which paints the perfect visual …

The Pearl Necklace

The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting
with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening
white pearls in a pink foil box. “Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them?
Please, Mommy, please?”

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked
back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl’s upturned face.
“A dollar ninety-five. If you really want them,
I’ll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough
money to buy them for yourself”

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies.
After dinner, she did more than her share of chores. On her birthday, Grandma gave
her a new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore
them everywhere – Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she
took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if
they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed,
he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story.
One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, “Do you love me?”

“Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you.”
“Then give me your pearls.”
“Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess – the white horse
from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one
you gave me. She’s my favorite.”

“That’s okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night.” And he brushed her cheek
with a kiss.”

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny’s daddy asked again,
“Do you love me?”

“Daddy, you know I love you.”
“Then give me your pearls.”

“Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new
one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow
blanket that matches her sleeper.”

“That’s okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you”
And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed
with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin
was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.

“What is it, Jenny? What’s the matter?”

Jenny didn’t say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when
she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she
finally said, “Here, Daddy. It’s for you.” With tears gathering in his own
eyes, Jenny’s kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store
necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a
blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He
had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store
stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure.

So it is with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to let go of some things so
he can show us there is more. Isn’t God good?
Are you holding onto things which God wants you to let go of?
Are you missing what God is offering today because you only want what you had yesterday?

Watching our babies grow up and leave home is hard. But isn’t that success? Isn’t that the point of raising children? The mama bird knows when the baby needs to leave the nest and it’s with tremendous love she pushes him out of the tall nest for the first time. He will never know his ability to fly if he doesn’t leave the comfort of where he’s always been. And here we are clinging to the baby, fretting over the threat of an empty nest, when that was always the goal we were working towards.

And just as grown children need to leave the comfort of where they’ve always been so they can spread their wings and fly, sometimes so do we. We too must be pushed out of the nest. We too have more within us that can only be experienced when we dare to go.

Changing jobs, moving to a new home, heck starting a new week … it’s all a balance of letting go of what was so we can accept what God is now offering.

If God said to you today “__(insert your name)__, I’m doing a new thing” would you trust him? Would you trust him enough to let go of what you have today? Would you trust him enough to stop looking back and keep your eyes forward?

God says in Isaiah 43:19 “See, I am doing a new thing!”

The only way you see something is to look. Look for what God is doing now. Look for what he is offering you now. Look forward to what is ahead and appreciate what is already behind. We’re not going back there. We can’t rewind time. The babies can’t be that little again. You can’t be that young again. I can’t go back to this past weekend again. Something new is now here.

A new week of life has been offered to you. A week of life where God is doing something new. Will you let go of what you had to accept this offering? Will you trust if God is taking anything out of your life, it is for a greater purpose in your future?

Our God is a good, good father and what he can give us is greater than anything we could ever do on our own. I wonder what he has in his hands for you? I wonder what amazing adventure or perfect provision he has for you? And I wonder what you will need to let go of to receive it? I wonder what blessed breakthrough, rewarding relationship, profitable promotion he has been wanting to give you FOR YEARS, but each time he asked, you were clinging to what you already had, unwilling to first let go.

God is doing something new.

We’re not going back to the old normal.

I’m okay with that … aren’t you?

So, let’s greet this Monday with anticipation, trusting what was is now over and what is next is better.