Letting go has to be one of the most challenging things to do as a human. We hold onto clothes, papers, baby teeth and broken pieces we say we will fix… even past experiences that are long gone and only present in our minds! We re-live glory days and mourn what should have been, and usually keep people in our lives we should have said good -bye to long ago.                                                               We are approaching the end of an old year, and getting ready to welcome in a new one. It’s time to clean house, hearts and minds to make room for “Next”. The bible speaks of newness many times over and we are reminded that old things are passed away and all things become new. If I am to renew my mind daily, then everyday means I get a fresh new start! Why is it so hard to let go then? Why do we want to keep reliving things that God tells us are passed?                  This journey called life has many facets to the adventure. We meet people over the years who inspire, teach, mold and even hurt us. We dream big, we lose big. We love much and break our hearts in the process. We raise children and release them to do “their thing”. Life is a constant receiving and releasing! Letting go is just as important as receiving a new idea or letting someone new into our lives.                      In my journey, I believe the hardest thing I had to learn to do was how to let a dream die and to let go of how I thought it should look.           When you are given a dream, a vision, or a relationship, you begin to pour all of your faith, time and emotion into molding it into what you see. This becomes your life’s ambition and the “thing” you believe is yours to be a steward over. Suddenly something happens out of your control, you lose the job, someone dies, divorce, broken promises… suddenly it’s  spinning away and disappearing from your sight! This “thing” you were given words about, you know that you know you were supposed to do, it’s gone and now you want me to let it go?                       This journey we call life has many unexplainable and “only God knows why” moments . We, as His children, have to trust him with those times. We do however, have to release and let go of these things so we can position ourselves for the new things He has for us. If we insist on holding onto something longer then we should, we may miss the new way or new person God has for us. The vision God has for us doesn’t change, we just have to understand that the people and the “how to’s” can be exchanged! God is not a man that He should lie, we just have to keep listening and be flexible to how HE will make it come to pass! Had I stopped at the disappointment and held on to “what was”, I wouldn’t be here today! God is still doing what HE promised, he is just doing it through another avenue!                       I encourage you, if you will just let go of what has long been gone and is dead, HE will give you a new way, avenue, or even bring someone else! We don’t forget what we learned through what is gone, we honor it and we appreciate those people, places and times we had in our journey. Let go as we leave this year, expect a renewal and a hope for the new that awaits for you just ahead. We must first say good-bye before we can say hello.