Love Means Letting Go & Having Faith

By Michele Herrick, Administrative Staff
“The best way to find out what we really need is to get rid of what we don’t.” ~Marie Kondo

Lately, I’ve been cleaning like crazy. It all started last August when my son began his senior year of high school. I felt this drive to get my house in order. I began sorting items: to keep, to donate, to give away, and to trash. I found things I hadn’t seen in years. I found items I didn’t even know I had. I even found an old wedding gift!

*I found a Christmas decoration that my son had made in Kindergarten - kept
           *I found 3 old pairs of tennis shoes - trashed
*I found the wooden rocking chair from when my son was born, which brought back so
   many beautiful memories - donated

Right away, I knew some of these items I was ready to let go of. They no longer held meaning for me. Other items have been difficult to let go, like that rocking chair. I’m slowly learning to let go but finding the process incredibly painful. In the midst of all this cleaning, I’m preparing myself for this fall when my son leaves for college. As a parent, it is the ultimate in “letting go”.

As I’ve been decluttering these past months, I’m seeing parallels in my faith life. Which prayer practices are no longer useful to me? What can I dust off & reuse? What is something new?

            *I’m going to take a break from Centering Prayer so I can learn something new.
 *I’m going to practice physical prayer. I learned about this prayer practice when I was
  enrolled in the Drinking from the Well program at the Nebraska Synod.  
            *I’m also researching a Bible Study class about journaling.   

As I sit here typing this article, I’m waiting for the St. Vincent de Paul truck to show up. I have our donations lined up neatly on our driveway. While I feel sad about letting some of them go, I also feel hopeful that someone else can use them. I’m clearing out space not only in my house, but in my soul for my next phase of life.

“Trust and wait for what is still unseen.” ~Romans 8:24




If you are interested in learning more about prayer practices, consider the Drinking From the Well program from Seeking the Spirit Within- the Nebraska Synod’s Institute for Spiritual Direction Formation. You can find out more about the program at www.seekingthespiritwithin.org.


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