All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of
letting go and holding on
Hole in our Hearts
Letting go is hard. Friends and relatives take up residence in your heart and become part of the very fabric of how you live your life, day in and day out. You check on them daily. You text and talk to them a couple of times a day or week. You are concerned when you haven’t seen them for a while. This is true for online, as well as offline (face to face) friends.
Letting go of them leaves you with kind of an empty feeling, a hole in your heart and sometimes a little guilt in your consciousness. Often people try to hold on to them and “fix” what’s wrong, even after the relationship has been broken.
Biblical Text: Genesis12-19
Abram is old, has no children, and is living in Ur. His brother has died and he takes over responsibility for his young nephew Lot. He has also adopted one of his slaves as his son. Abram is called by God to pick up all of his stuff and his family and move… to somewhere. He takes everyone, including Lot.
Whenever he is given the the opportunity to make a choice, that affects both their lives, Lot always chooses to take what he perceives as the upper hand. He chooses the best land for grazing. He wants to live near the city and not out in the sticks. He wants to hang out with the pagans, etc., etc.
Abraham is always working behind the scenes trying to save him and protect him. He even has to mount an attack to save him from being kidnapped by a hostile king.
Abraham negotiates with God to save Lot from certain death as we approach the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot finally gets his family out is Sodom. And, in spite of clear warnings not to do so, Mrs. Lot looks back and is turned to a pillar of salt.
Lot gets is so distraught that he gets drunk and his daughters seduce him so that they will be able to carry on the family name. What???
No matter how tremendously and richly Uncle Abraham’s life was, Lot just could not get in step. He insisted on going his own way, following his own mind and doing his own thing, to his destruction.
There is little doubt that after all of those years together that Abraham was heart-broken at what became of Lot. I am sure that as the years passed, he had occasion to think about what he might have done differently to save his nephew.
Letting Go
Sometimes we have to back away from people, the toxic and negative energy and the chaos they bring into everyone’s lives. Sometimes we have to let go of them to keep from drowning ourselves.
This is never easy.
But, the hole will heal…in time
The tears will stop…in time
Comfort will come…in time
We will forgive them…and ourselves….in time.
How do you get through a breakup?
Thoughts?
This is a follow-up to an earlier post, Torn Underwear.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/reutc/513728897/in/photostream/
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