Holding on or letting go?

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted...I hope everyone is doing well!

I'm hoping to get back into more of a routine with posting this year.

A little update on my health:

In the past 2 years, I have had under 5 symptoms for the first time! That's pretty amazing considering I've grown accustomed to about 20 symptoms!

So my doctor decided to stop IVs for right now, but keep my PICC line in just in case we need to go back to IVs.

That means, I'm on oral antibiotics right now to help kill the cystic bacteria and soon I'll be working on the biofilms (those nasty bacteria create a film so it makes it hard for the medicine to kill). Last but not least, this past Saturday I woke up with zero symptoms! Praise God! Project GET BETTER continues! 

While I was reading today, I couldn't help but notice something outside. 

It was a beautiful day today. Light blue sky, few white clouds and a nice breeze, but that's not what caught my attention.

There was a big, red leaf hanging onto a branch of a bare, dead tree. 

It was holding onto the thin branch for dear life.

Tossing, wrestling, flapping, and whirling was the dance of this leaf.

I wanted to scream out to the leaf, "Just let go! I can tell you're struggling, just let go!' 

It made me think of this past year and the new year that is among us. 

Just like the pretty red leaf that caught my attention, we often hold on to things in life. 

Some things are better to hold onto than others.

We should hold onto our loved ones, memories, and values, but a lot of times we hold onto things that make life harder to live. 

Just like the leaf, I know that I've struggled to let go of things that only weigh me down. 

Holding onto things like regrets, hardships, unhealthy relationships can exhaust us. They can make us weary and bitter, in turn stealing the joy from life. I think it's interesting how hard it can be to 'let go' sometimes.

Why is it that our fists clench tighter and our hearts grow colder to the things that make us miserable?

I'm not really sure why it works that way at times. Maybe it's because we are emotional beings. 

We feel things so easy. We hurt so easy. We hold on so easy. 

 We often get wrapped up into the emotions of it all. 

The feelings seem to take over and we get caught up, forgetting the possibility of freedom and hope that can come from releasing our tight clenched fists and turning them over to God. 

So this year I challenge you (and myself), to let go of  the hurt from 2013 and years past. 

Let them fly away just like the struggling red leaf and look up to God in thankfulness for freedom from burdens and new beginnings!

"Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past."
- Henry Ward Beecher