Let Go

Here I am to welcome Friday morning. These early hours are so quiet, it's easy for my thoughts to drift toward my other half. He's a mere 102 miles from me at this very moment, but it feels like a lifetime away. 

Thirty six days from now I will be sleeping (or not sleeping) in this very bed on my last night as an unmarried girl. Calling myself a woman is scary, but I suppose that's what I am. A woman at the beginning of the next phase of her life, wholly and completely reliant on her God despite the world's insistence that she prepare for the future herself, "just in case".  

I've been praying so hard lately to have the faith it takes to put every ounce of trust I have in Him. To not just "know" he will take care of me, but live my life in such a way that leaves no room for doubt. If I truly trust him to take care of my tomorrows, I must not make plans for them. After all, they may never come. I must give all I have and all I am to today. And let me tell you, that's a scary thought. To store up things for myself, even for my family, in the future, is to say "God, I think you'll take care of us when the time comes, but just in case...". That also hinders me from taking what I am given today and giving it back to his kingdom. We are called to not worry about tomorrow. I worry about what will happen when I retire at 65-70, so to forget everything after the end of today is very challenging.

It's a very personal decision to make as far as what amount of preparation you might consider to be a lack of faith. However, I challenge you to step back and evaluate your decisions. Are there things you are saving for later, things you are storing up for yourself so that when the time comes, you will be taken care of? Let me just say, insurance companies and 401Ks are worthless when compared to what God can do when you trust in Him and only Him to take care of you. 

Now here comes the hard part: letting go.

Luke 12: 13-34

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
¹⁴ Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” ¹⁵ Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
¹⁸ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. ¹⁹ And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
²¹ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Worry

²² Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ²⁵ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life^[b]? ²⁶ Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
²⁷ “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰ For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
³² “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.