Letting Go... The Franciscan Challenge

Letting Go of "Stressing Out"

Every six months when I see my oncologist, she always asks me if I allow myself to get stressed out. She reminds that stress is a risk factor for cancer. I can say my Franciscan Challenge is letting go of “stressing out.”  I jumpstart my day with praying, “O Jesus, I surrender myself totally to you. I ask you to please take care of everything” Surrender Prayer. I give all my concerns to Jesus, and I don’t take them back. I know He has my back. In Matthew 6: 25-27, Jesus addresses the uselessness of worry and reminds us how valuable we are to our heavenly Father. My mantra throughout the day is the closing of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, “Jesus, I trust in you.”

When Memories are Attached to Things

All throughout the pandemic, I have been trying to clean and donate some of my unused items, old clothes, books and trinkets. I would clean and organize my closet and drawers, and whenever I feel I cleared a space in my closet or drawer, it would get filled up again in the next week---a never-ending cycle (or recycle) is happening in my life!

Well, during this invitation of letting go through the Franciscan Challenge (www.fssh.net), I chose to let go of things that have memories. Sometimes those memories get me stuck in the past joys--in the "how it was." In my drawer I have things that people gave me, or things that I have picked up during my retreat, like holy cards.

The things that belonged to earth, I gave back to earth (for example, shells, tree bark, leaves, stones, and so on). For the things that were given to me, I donated them to the thrift shop. For the holy cards, I sat and prayed with them and placed them in the recycle bin. It was hard at first because those had meaning, but then I realized that the memories of those people and the things they gave me have always been in my I think I will make a monthly tradition of this exercise of "Letting Go" of not only the material things, but also the personal attitudes and bad habits that I must release to allow space for transformation.

Fifteen Books Benefit People in Three States

It turns out I have a collection of books. The Franciscan Challenge caught my attention and moved me to read the books and give them away. As I finished reading a book, I used a tally sheet to record my stash, books and things. My sister accepted any books for her parish rummage sale. A former co-worker said one book would be beneficial to his parish. After dispossessing the 15 items, I felt lighter, and it was exciting to meet the goal of 15! People from Iowa, Illinois and Indiana received something.