I  love the quote that says “The trees are about to show us how beautiful it is to let things go.” ~ Anonymous

I’m trying to be like the tree. I am.

With stuff….

With situations….

With people I love. Gotta be like the tree and not hold on when it’s time to let go.

My problem is, I can be more like the pin oak than the Gingko Tree. The pin oak holds it’s leaves till just before Spring.

The leaves cling for the whole of Winter. But yeah, the Gingko, it loses its leaves in one fair swoop and leaves a dramatic splash of color  on the ground for all to see.

(Photo Credit: Cheryl Black)

Yeah, sometimes fears can make us be like the pin oak…trying to  control situations or believe that things can change, when in reality, it’s time to leave a season behind and welcome the new. Even if the season is Winter. (Gotta go through Winter before you can get to Spring.)

And dead leaves, well, there’s no use holding on to them. I mean, they are gone and can’t get any more life from the tree. Holding on to the leaf thats already gone doesn’t help the leaf or the tree. I mean, that’s obvious. So why does this pin-oakish heart try to salvage things that are already gone?  Maybe, I’ve gotta remember that, bottom line, letting go is more of a heart issue than anything else.

All through scripture, there are beautiful verses that serve to remind us to let go and trust God. If I’m  honest with myself, when my pin-oakish tendencies flare up, I’m in a place where I’m making attempts to fix or control things that are way out of my league.  With stuff. With situations. With people I love.

The Bible says to “Cast your anxiety on Him for He cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7)  CAST — To throw off, to let go,…like a Gingko tree shedding its leaves in one fair swoop.

The Bible also says In Ecclesiastes 3:6 ~ “there’s a time to search and a time to give  up, a time to keep and a time to throw away.”  Ugh. I’m not good at that. I’m realizing that sometimes I can halt the very process I desire by getting in the way trying to “fix” or “help” or “rescue”.  Not good. Not when the situation is way beyond my reach or control or even comprehension. Nope. Gotta cling to the truth that God sees and knows and can move, while I let go and get out of the way.

Hope is  a good, good thing. But I’ve gotta realize that bottom line, my hope is so not in me and my oh-so-finite abilities, but in the One who is greater, loves deeper, and sees all. His reach has no bounds. His love has no limits. His Truth cuts to the core. Gotta bring my baskets of dead leaves to Him, and trust that He’ll renew and restore and breathe life back into what can be redeemed.  I can’t fix the unfixable. I can find those who don’t want to be found.  He’s the God of Seasons. He knows when it’s time for Fall…and letting go, and winter and resting  a bit, and Spring. I can trust Him as a Gingko, or as  Pin-Oak. Doesn’t change his love for me. But dead leaves really serve no purpose for me….only make me aware of what I need to let go. Takes lots of energy to hold on to things. Gotta cast those cares into the arms of God and cling to His promises.

And I have a feeling that just like it’s a beautiful thing to see trees let go of the leaves, well, letting go of what’s not ours to keep or control in the first place  won’t look half bad on us either.  Yeah, here’s to being like the Gingko with casting  cares on Him and trusting Him with what He does with what we lay at His feet.

Blessings to You and Yours~

Heather