Sometimes we have to let go in order to draw closer to God.
As I was doing dishes this morning, I looked out my window and saw leaves falling down like rain. There were literally hundreds of them. With Thanksgiving a little over a week away, the leaves made me think about letting go of things that not only don’t matter in the long run, but also letting go of things that keep us from being thankful.
Every year, the retailers rush from Halloween to Christmas and try to skip over Thanksgiving. The holiday doesn’t make them much money. But, it’s a uniquely American holiday, where we take time out to be thankful for all that we have.
It seems to me that to truly ready our hearts for the gift of the Christ Child, that we really shouldn’t skip the step of humbly giving thanks to God, not only for our personal blessings, but for being who He is.
That brings me back to those falling leaves. Every year, the trees shed all of those leaves that they needed and used during the spring and summer. They don’t need them in the winter and they beautifully let them go.
As we prepare ourselves for Thanksgiving, are we like the trees, blissfully letting go of things that stand in the way of our being thankful, or are we holding tightly with both hands?
Things like anger, resentment, pride, or guilt and shame over past actions, have to be let go like all of those leaves, in order for us to draw close to God. It doesn’t matter whether the things we are holding onto with a white knuckled grip, were done by us or done to us, if we want to walk with Jesus, we have to let them go.
The Bible tells us to give thanks in all circumstances which can be incredibly difficult when our lives are going badly, but when we give thanks, we are thanking God for who He is and for His love for us, knowing that circumstances will eventually change. When we give thanks, we acknowledge that His plan is better than our own, although it’s impossible for us to understand sometimes.
The falling leaves remind us to let go of all that stands between us and Him. We don’t need all of that negativity. All we need is Him.
The leaves that have been allowed to fall, can turn into a rich fertilizer for things to grow in the future. They remind us that God can use all of our baggage to grow us too, if we allow it, if we let go.
God reminded me this morning of the importance of Thanksgiving. I was reminded not to fast forward to Christmas, but to bask in the moment of letting go and giving thanks. Perhaps you needed a reminder too.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂