A New Definition

Life is about letting go.  Strange thought.  It is a realization planted in my mind and heart by Esther de Waal in a book she wrote entitled, "The White Stone."  And while she is writing about the letting go which inevitably comes in the later years of life, what is true is that the letting go is only more visible in those years than it is in the earlier ones.  In the later years we have to let go of a lot of the accumulated stuff because there no longer is enough room and we have to let go of some of the dreams and hopes because there is not enough time.  These moments of letting go are hard moments of reality, but being hard does not make them disappear.    

In a way we should not be surprised by such moments when the years are full of memories and shorter on days to make more memories.  The truth is we start the process of letting go at the very beginning.  We let go of the comfort and security of our Mother's womb, we let go of the innocense of being a child, the vigor of adolescence, our independence as we marry and rear children, and our illusions of being one who is always patted on the back for doing a great job.  We are constantly living with the work of letting go, but we call it something else which is more palatable to our ego.    

It would seem that people of faith in God would be able to see this letting go part of life, but such is not necessarily the case.  A very trite phrase which has been worn out is the one about "Letting go and letting God."   Bonhoeffer's most memorable words, "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die," really says it all, but for most of us who spend a life time holding on to stuff, it is a hard word to embrace.  Still, it is true.  Even as life itself is about letting go, so is our walk with God.