When You Have to Let Go

            Billy took a fortnight to say good-bye to Willa.  She wasn’t dumping him. She had gotten into a prestigious school in Paris for art, and Billy’s mother was slowing dying of cancer. They had to part. Maybe for a time. Maybe forever. For both of them it was the most painful time of their lives.

            Billy came to me in tears. “How will I survive with out my soulmate? She is the only one I will ever love. Damn the cancer. How could God be so unjust?”

            I remember my words exactly. “Close your eyes, Billy. Can you see Willa?”

            With tears running down his face, he nodded yes.

            “Then she is still with you. And I’m sure when she closes her eyes, you are there with her too. Can you imagine that as well?”

            He opened his eyes and said, “Yeh, I can. But…—“

            I cut him off, “There are no buts. Your circumstance is what is. You will wake up tomorrow and put one foot in front of the other and move on. It will be painful at first. But you will go on. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? God has a purpose for you and for Willa. You have to believe with every breath.”

            Three years later… Willa stayed in France and ended marrying a Parisian. Billy fell in love again and married his best friend. The couple is having their second child.

            When you look back at trials, they don’t look as monumental as they did when you were in them. In fact, you can almost see a running theme in all your tribulations: Growth! Purpose! Reason!

            We don’t have a God that decides that you have to hurt like hell because it’s fun for God. We have a God who has helped us decide before the beginning of time, as we know it, to create a plan to aid us in our spiritual and soul growth on this earth. If you think otherwise, you might want to reassess life.

            Life isn’t about making the most money, getting that record contract, having a baby, getting married, having a social network of thousands, partying until dawn every night, or becoming a movie star. All those things are great and may be a part of your spiritual growth, but they are not the reason you came to this earth.

            The reason you came to this earth is locked deep inside your heart, and it is up to you to dig deep enough to unearth it. The entire world is waiting for you and for me to become what we were intended to be.

            As Marianne Williamson says, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.”

            Lord, God, guide us to our highest and best. Let the cares and worries of today be lost in the brightness of your glory shining within us. We are the bright lights of the world. Let us shine before others, that they may see the good that you bring and give glory to God.