Letting Go... The Franciscan Challenge

Change is Coming: How Will We Respond?

The month of October should be called Super October. Why do you ask? Because first, there are many powerful saints that we celebrate throughout the month:

St. Therese of Lisieux- October 1
The Holy Guardian Angels– October 2
St. Francis of Assisi- October 4
Respect Life Sunday- October 6
Our Lady of the Rosary– October 7
St. Teresa of Avila– October 15
St. Margaret Mary– October 16
St. Luke- October 18
St. John Paul II– October 22
St. Simon and Jude– October 28

In fact, the entire month is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, and it is a month of transformations! It gets darker earlier in the evening and stays dark longer in the morning. It will go from sweater weather to jacket weather quickly. The leaves change color and lose their leaves. What an example Mother Nature is to us! Its environment changes drastically! Just how often, when we must change our way of doing something, do we moan and groan and drag our feet? Do you hear nature complaining? As the leaves change colors and drop off the trees, they swirl and dance and celebrate what is theirs to do. They believe in the Resurrection, for they will come alive again in spring with new life. How do we react to change or to what God may be asking us to do? Yes, it is that old “letting go” thing. We can let go and let God gently guide our life or hang on and often be miserable! Remember that God does not make us miserable, we do it to ourselves. Our God is a loving God who showers us with the blessings and graces that we need to change into who God wants us to be. We, like Mary, our mother must say “Yes, your will be done, in and through me.” Enjoy this formidable and inspiring month!                                                                                 

A Season of Letting Go

The season of “letting go” has arrived! This month begins with a reminder of our future life in heaven with the celebration of All Saints Day. We then are reminded to let go of those we love as we celebrate All Souls Day. Letting go of those we love does not mean we forget them. We hold them in our hearts, prayers, and our treasured memories.

 As the leaves dance off the trees and fall to the ground, they show us how lovely letting go can be. As the leaves fall, they are not sad about letting go. They are making space for new leaves that will rise in spring with new life, but only if the old ones surrender and let go. As we let go, we do not change colors like the leaves, but we do change. Letting go of stuff in our lives allows us to become the person God wants us to be.

Rapunzel and Letting Go

As a child, I reveled in reading fairy tales. Among them was the story of Rapunzel who was gifted with long, golden braided hair, but was confined to a tower with only a window for access. Whenever her prince friend wanted to see her, he would call out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your long hair.” She would toss her braids outside the window, and up he would climb.

So, you are probably wondering, what has that got to do with letting go?

Sometime ago, I heard a call, not to let down my hair, but to let go of my short, gray, unbraided hair. No prince called, but instead I heard the effects of chemotherapy.

It was a tremendous reminder that while there are things in life that each of us can choose to sort through or remove from life, there are other matters over which we have no control. Actually, I found it relatively easy to go through my CD collection last year in order to donate music that was no longer of any interest. On the other hand, seeing my scalp without its usual covering was a bit disconcerting. I had a choice. Would I accept the inevitable reality or would I mope?

Letting go does have its rewards. Happily, I have been blessed with a great network of supportive friends. One witnessed my tears and said it was ok to weep. Others have supplied me with delightful head coverings that keep my head warm both day and night. Another said that I now look like the Orthodox Jewish women who never show their hair. One complimented that the colored scarf makes me look like a fashionista! A great blessing is that I now have a gift of empathy for other women who have lost their hair. I know what it means to them, I feel their loss. But, I have discovered that in letting go, I have received more than I could have ever expected to receive in return. For this I am grateful.        

Image by Tilixia from Pixabay