November 23-24

Ephesians 3:20  Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.  Amen.

  

This fall, I seem to have much in common with many of the trees in my yard.  We are each in a season of letting go.

The trees are actively letting go of their leaves in preparation for the cold, dry winter ahead. Only through this process of letting go can the trees begin to grow again in their next season of sunlight and warmth. As for me, I am letting go of my children and the happy hum of day-to-day living with them in the house. They have grown up and left home to make their own ways in the world, and I am dreading the quiet days of winter ahead.

As I watch the beautiful leaf colors float to the ground, I wonder, what else does God want me to let go so that I can grow spiritually in the next season of my life?   Could it be that I need to release things that I have made more important in my life than God? 

Somehow, I think it will take more than dropping a few leaves to become the person God wants me to be. But what if I could truly commit to letting go of the things that separate me from Him?  What if I could let go of the strongholds on my thinking and behavior that keep me from receiving His abundant plan for me?  If I drop my firm grasp on my old ways and open my empty hands to Him, would He truly fill them with all the goodness He has planned for me? 

God is calling my name.  In answering, I open my heart and lift my empty hands up to Him. By His grace, I can receive the bounty God has for me as we walk together into this next season of my life.

Dear God, by your goodness, give me what I do not deserve.  Help me to open my heart and hands to the abundant life you have planned for me. I pray for the courage to be the person you created me to be. Amen.