Let It Go

Fall is the season of letting go. There’s a wistful resignation these days, an understanding that I can’t hold on to everything.

The welcoming morning light is now reduced to a distant glow on the horizon. The long evenings with crickets chirping and the smells of the day hanging in the air are now sucked into the night. Evenings on the deck in short sleeves are giving way to sweaters and socks indoors. It’s time to let go.

After a week of covering the garden from Jack Frost, I finally picked off the withering produce and left the stalks to endure the harsh cold alone. I can’t stave off winter forever. This garden has been a friend to me, a reminder that life can be found, and enjoyed. Wiping the earth from the fresh vegetables has been such joy.

But the lessons for this season are over. Let it go.

Fall photo, Leavenworth WA

Twenty Falls ago, we deliberately walked James to the bustop. The dog bounded like it was any other morning, but for the rest of us, we knew this one was different. We slowed a half a block away, letting him walk the rest of the way by himself. He looked back just once, a big smile on his face as he climbed the steps. Let it go.

I read once that from the day your child is born, you are in the process of freeing them into adulthood. It’s true. Now they make decisions and live their lives, thousands of miles away. They call and we chat and laugh, but it’s not the same. Let it go.

A few Falls ago, I gathered a box of nick knacks that didn’t belong in a single man’s home, memories from a lifetime past. Slipping out of my fingers, I put the box in the donation pile, and walked away with heart heavy, but certain healing would come. Let it go.

I’ve hung on to relationships, fighting with every breath to keep them active. But no amount of effort, of sacrifice, of friendship could keep them going. The other person was just not interested. Surrendering my pride, I had to let them go.

There are other things I am resigned to, like wrinkles and creeping gray. My youth, my boundless energy…to what destination did time fly? Slipping away, one year, one week, one day at a time.

But somewhere in this letting go, there is something to be gained. In this upside down world of eternity, death becomes life, emptiness becomes fullness, and mourning becomes joy.

Let it go….

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Oh, I can’t wait to see you, Jesus, face to face
Nothing in this world can take Your place
All the pride of man laid low and all his works of gold
Nothing can compare with what You are
Let everything else go.

Phil Keaggy, Let Everything Else Go

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