Let Go - Lent, Day 26
“Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?”—ISAIAH 43:18-19 (NRSVUE)
Reflect
There are some things that we can’t let go of—like caretaking responsibilities, illness, or paying bills (wouldn’t that be nice?). But there are some things we can work on letting go of—like past hurts or grudges or that one thing we said that one time but cannot forget. Bruno Lanteri, an early 19th century priest (who was possibly the kindest of his age), advises us to “turn the page and begin again.”30 Well doesn’t that sound a little like grace! So maybe today is the day to take Lanteri’s advice. Whatever it is we carry—from the heaviness of the things we cannot set down to all we could (but probably won’t). In this way, I don’t carve out those parts of my life—I simply turn the page and let the previous pages go.
30 Adapted from Fr. Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V. Begin Again: The Life and Legacy of Bruno Lanteri. (New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2013). xiii.
Respond
If you catch yourself going to the list of things your brain is scared to let go of—don’t sweat it, you’re just being human again. Thank your brain for reminding you of the old chapters and gently turn the page.
Blessing for when you need to hold on or let go
Sometimes it feels like a better person
wouldn’t be like this:
tethered to so many hopes,
and fears, and expectations.
Blessed are you, pulled between letting go—
sometimes needing to let go—
and needing to hold on.
Blessed are you, who yearn
for connection, for love, for touch.
You who hunger
for the beauty of life itself
and the people who fill it.
Blessed are you, who can’t yet say,
“I’m letting it go,”
because it feels as if you’ll wash
away into an ocean of nothingness.
May you cling to what feels good,
loosening your grip on the painful untruths:
like the one that says you’re alone,
or unlovable,
or that desire is the enemy.
May you hunger for what is good,
and be filled.
There will be no easy math.
You will lose, and you will gain,
and almost none of it will make sense.
It will force your hands open.
In the ebb and flow of wins and losses,
may you notice the mystery of it all—
the stubbornness of flowers
and the need for endless small reminders
that the pain and comedy of it,
will point you back to love.31
31 Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie. Adapted from “For When You Need to Hold On or Let Go” in The Lives We
Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days. (New York: Convergent Books, 2023). 178-179.
© KateBowler.com