Let Go, Then "Let's Go!"

Jazzy loves to "pretend-bury" treats for future enjoyment. She tucks her rawhide in the folds of her favorite blanket, and then pushes with her nose to "throw dirt" over the hole until she believes it is hidden from view. Other treats are "buried" in various corners of the house, waiting to be rediscovered by her at a later date. The best part is to watch her fuss over the burial process, and then to watch her retrieve the treat immediately, to be buried elsewhere or enjoyed in an instant gratification moment. With Jazzy, this process is all fun and games, but we humans practice a similar process that leads to our ruination.

We say we are burying the hatchet, the grudge, the hurt. We make a big ordeal out of the burial process, so the offense is hidden from view. But we hide it just about as long as Jazzy hides her treats. Even before the hurt fades from memory, we snatch it back up so we can ruminate on it some more. We lick our wounds and think about how pitiful our situation is. We think about how a person or event harmed us beyond repair, and we don't even think of asking Jesus to heal our broken hearts. How are we helping the healing process by reliving those things that bring us down? When we ask Jesus to help us really forgive, we can move forward and enjoy the clean slate of our future.

As we begin a New Year, we can lighten our load by putting away those things that hinder our journey. Goal setting can only help us with our future when we have successfully dealt with the past. This is the perfect time of year to take inventory of our burdens and let them go like helium balloons rather than hide them in the ground. That way, we can look up rather than bury our heads in the sand.

Let go, and then "let's go!"