Turning Loose . . . Letting Go

Recently, while on my morning run, something caught my eye and I paused to stare at a tree that I’d passed many times, but had never really noticed. It was a bright, breezy morning, yet
drops of sweat were already starting to build on my forehead, so I welcomed the break.

Catching my breath for just a moment, I was captured by the brilliance of the colors of this tree. The leaves of the tree were lit up in vibrant shades of orange, yellow, and red, with various combinations. No picture or painting could fully display the beauty of this scene. 

As I stood just taking in the magnificence of God’s creation, the wind began to blow a little stronger, and I watched as many of the colorful leaves began to turn loose from their branches and fall to the ground.

I began to think of the autumn season and the transition that was taking place. The tree was sensing that change was coming. The beautiful green leaves of summer were now decorating the landscape with brilliant colors. But their beauty will be short-lived once they let go. The brightest colors will soon fade as the leaves turn a brittle, dull brown.

Those same leaves that hung on so tightly during the summer winds and storms must now turn loose and let go for the coming season. But there had to be a change prior to their letting go.

Soon, the beauty of the fall colors will give way to the drab, gray bare limbs. Those things that may have been hidden in the trees are now exposed as the leaves let go.

The beautiful, cool autumn weather will soon give way to dark, cloudy days and chilling cold temperatures. A tree enters the winter season looking totally different from what it looked like in the summer season. The bare, empty limbs of the trees will be forced to face an uncomfortable season.

A winter season forces a tree to pull from inside itself to survive the brutal weather.

Turning loose and letting go doesn’t mean it’s over. The loss of those leaves does not mean the death of the tree. It simply means it’s time for a new season. 

Perhaps you’re sensing a change of seasons in your personal life. Maybe you’re facing some brutal winds that are calling for you to turn loose and let go of some things that were convenient in the past season. Possibly, the place you’re at in life is not what you had envisioned, and what has now been exposed is not comfortable.

Change is inevitable for a new season.

The only thing constant in life is change. But for every season of change, God remains the same.

For everything there is a season . . . Ecclesiastes 3:1

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

As a tree in the winter season, you may be forced to pull from inside yourself to survive. Changes may be required in comfortable routines, and your schedule may take on a different appearance. But rest assured, you are stronger than you could possibly imagine and braver than you think.

Don’t give up, and don’t give in.

That which appears to be dead is only dormant. As surely as winter follows autumn, spring follows winter. Don’t be afraid to face your coming season, because your day to bloom is coming again.

Life will never really begin again if you hold tightly to what can no longer be.

Turn loose.

Let go.

Still believing!