LET IT GO...
When I pray to God for something or about something, I have always get this feeling that i need to help God answer my prayer faster. I have these thoughts if I do this and this, it will get me closer to what I’m praying for. In today’s terms is what we call shortcuts. Shortcuts create an illusion that we have control of every situation and in reality, we don’t.
Have you ever tried to “help” God?
In a naïve way, I have experienced lack of patience wanting to do things my way.
Today, I want to give you the analogy of winemaking. When I think of wine, I think of nice, robust bottle of wine that is ready to be served, but there’s more to making a good bottle of wine than just the finished product.
The process of winemaking begins with picking up the grapes, sorting the fruit, crushing the fruit, and lastly, putting them into fermentation. When the wine is bottle up it can take years before it can reach its peak. I’m not a wine connoisseur, but what I know is that some of the best wines have to take their time for their optimal quality. They require time of maturation and during this time some flavors, aromas, and texture appear and fade. The finished product of wine is a liquid in a bottle, but it took crushing, processes, and patience to serve its purpose.
When it comes to our personal life is the same thing. Some of our greatest joys and greatest pains in life will often come from the same place. There’s a process where we need to be crushed because it brings the best and worst in us, it's in the crushing we see what we are truly made of. During our season of crushing and pain we have the option to release things/people and bring new ones into our lives. It’s a slow process requiring trust, faith, and patience.
“Taking one step in the right direction toward your destiny right now does not equal you seeing your future in all its glory tonight.” -Bishop T.D. Jakes
Recently, in my encounters with different people the topic about relationships has been a very popular subject. Some of the questions I encountered, "Why don’t you date more?" "Are you okay being single?" And the list of questions could go on and on. I heard this a while back and it stuck with me and it goes along the lines; "you can’t do life right if your doing relationships wrong." Meaning that every relationship in your life requires work, attention, effort, intentionality, and more. I don’t want to date just to date because I want to be intentional with every relationship I have in my life. Right now I’m in a process of healing, and dating for me right now would slow that process. There’s the possibility that I could miss my full healing just for temporary fulfillment or temporary pleasure. I have intentionality about being the best version of myself. I can’t say it enough, TIME DOES NOT HEAL. GOD DOES.
Yes, over time I can suppress and ignore all my emotions, but still, deep within me, I can be incomplete. Being intentional with my healing is requiring me to dig deep into places I have issues and scars, It’s not fun but is required. Dating is a process of clarity and self-discovery and I want to get to that point of knowing what I want and need. Healing takes time and work. Think about it this way, a broken bone can take months to heal, with emotions is just the same. When a person has a broken bone it may require surgery, taking care of the injury, and sometimes physical therapy. There’s no doubt that time is required but there are more actions taking place than just time.
Letting go isn't easy, I believe is one of the toughest things to do. It takes a step of faith. I’m a person who likes to know everything ahead of time, I like my routine, and I dislike change. Letting go is teaching me trust, patience, and unlearning what I’ve known. It’s uncomfortable and is an everyday fight of choosing my purpose or quitting. I’m okay being single because it has given me a new perspective of life and I know there’s so much more I need to focus on. Patience has been a weakness of mine; I have failed over and over wanting to do things my way and rushing into decisions. In the attempts of making shortcuts I have robbed and distracted myself from my purpose. There will always be opportunities to trade my purpose for temporary pleasure. God is setting me free from things I thought I needed to begin with. I’m setting new habits and releasing the need to know “what’s next.”
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7 NKJV
I pray that God brings wisdom and discernment into your life to show you the things that you need to let go of and the things you can adjust for your now and future. Maybe you need to let go of anxiety, shame, anger, guilt, unforgiveness; I don’t know what’s your struggle, only God knows. Sometimes the Lord allows some things around us to shut down, to die, so that something within us comes alive. Don’t rob yourself with half of YOU. God doesn’t work incompletely, there’s no time in God’s work. Evolve and be intentional in everything you do. Wait on the Lord and don’t try to help him because he doesn’t need our help. Manage the things you can control, adjust, and if you need to let go of something maybe it’s time to do it.
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