Let Go, So You Can Move On

There’s a time to hold on and a time to let go.

I remember my dad teaching me how to roller skate. I held his hand tightly as we skated together around the rink. But eventually my confidence grew, and it was time to let go of his hand and skate by myself as he watched proudly nearby.

The scene was much the same as he took off my bike’s training wheels and taught me how to ride on two wheels. In both cases, I was glad to have my dad’s steady hand available to get me started, but a transition came when I had to venture out on my own.

I’ve met a lot of people who are still clutching some security blanket—so tightly, in fact, that they are nearly suffocating. Maybe you’ve had this experience too. Something that was a needed crutch in the past is now holding you back from future progress.

Several years ago I found myself moving from Ohio to Florida, where my husband was starting an exciting new job in ministry and writing. Although I could see the hand of God at work to provide such a wonderful opportunity, the move brought about traumatic changes that seemed to unravel my entire world.

I had lived in Ohio my entire life. So this move required leaving behind my parents, longtime friends, job, church, aunts and uncles, cousins—and a whole lot of precious memories. It was as if a piece of me was being left in Ohio, and a huge void was crying out to be filled.

As the airplane took off toward Orlando, tears streamed down my cheeks as I tried to keep myself together. I always thought it sounded so glamorous to “follow your dreams,” but now I was confronted with the stark reality of leaving my comfort zone.

From time to time, we are presented with a fork in the road decision. It’s like one of the television game shows where the emcee says, “You can keep what you have already won, or risk it all for whatever is hidden behind this curtain.” We can proceed through the open doors and continue on our journey, or we can cling to what we already have, refusing to let go so we can move on.

What about you?

Are you willing to leave your comfort zone, letting go of people, places and things that would hold you back from your destiny? Can you see how it’s sometimes necessary to let go of treasured “security blankets” in order to give you room for new relationships and opportunities?