Placing it in God's hands

When I think about letting go of something (people, dreams, problems, etc), I think of a completely getting rid of all emotions attached to it, all hopes, all thoughts, everything. Like you're just spitting out a piece of gum into the trashcan. Most of the time that seems impossible to me when it's something important to me, or a struggle. And I think, "Well how do you stop feeling a certain way?" It's as if you're incapable of stopping feelings or thoughts, you can only stop actions upon them or continual thoughts upon them.

And although over time you may be able to get rid of all thoughts about something, because obviously we all move on from people, places, things, problems, etc., and there is no quick fix, it still seems like an impossible feat sometimes.

But today I had the thought that letting go is different than placing something in God's hands. The entire mental image is different to me - dropping something and walking away, acting like you don't care anymore, verses placing something you care into the hands that created the world and can do whatever he wants to with what you handed Him. It may be that you're placing a dream in his hand that you hope comes to fulfillment, but he hands you back a different one that brings him more glory. It may be placing a situation into His hands where you have no control over and don't know what to do or pray for, and He takes over and works and His will is done. Yes, it is still letting go, but a totally different perspecitve on it.

Have you ever handed someone your nice camera and asked them to take a picture of you and someone else (or with a cool scene behind you) and there's a thought, "Oh what if they drop it?" And oh, I handed it to a girl one time and she dropped my camera. It smashed in part of it and almost broke it. Or watching a parent leave their baby or first child with a me as a baby-sitter - they are handing over the care of their most precious item to someone else. The look on their face, the hesitation at the door, going over simple things that I already know, and the continual saying goodbye to their child. It's not always a fear that something might happen when they're gone, it's just the thought of being away from something so important to them, missing something so important to them, and trusting that that important thing is in good hands.

When you hand something over to God, it's in good hands. If something is broken, he can fix it. If it's giving up something important to you, He'll either give it back when it's time or He will give you something equally as important in place of that that is in His will. It is a heavy thought to think, "Well I just gotta let it go and not deal with it anymore, and if I think about it or feel sad about it then that means I didn't let go." It's more freeing to think, "I have confidence giving this to Him and although it will be hard, it's ok because He will do what's best" and that brings peace. That peace that surpasses understanding because it comes directly from God. It may not mean an immediate thing where you stop thinking about it, stop struggling with something, stop feeling something, stop hoping for something, but it's a process of letting God remind you that He is almighty, powerful, soverign, holy, perfect, and merciful. It's God saying, "Hey, it's ok to place it in my care. And it's ok if it's a process. LIFE is a process." It takes months for babies to learn how to walk, years to learn to talk, and 13 years to be finished with the regular amount of education needed as a child. It takes time to learn a new skill, be good at a new job, or be disciplined at something.

"You know what I long for, Lord;
you hear my every sigh."
-Psalm 38:9

"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."
-Romans 15:13