Thoughts on letting go

Monday, July 25, 2016
Smolensk, Central Russia, Russian Federation

It's a quiet Monday and I had some thoughts that I wanted to share . We arrived back Sat night from Kaliningrad, had a great, full Sunday with our meeting and fellowship, and after a day in the city I am sitting in my cozy room and writing all of you! I will post some pictures of our travels on the train and our sweet Sunday with the brothers and sisters. We are waiting for two of our daughters to come and join us, Bethany and Rachel will arrive on Saturday and stay until mid August. It will be so fun to walk around the city and parks with them and just enjoy being in the city we love together! Below are som



 There is a corny old phrase that is from the 70's and it comes to mind as I sit here on this summer eve and write this blog. "Let go and let God"
 In my life, these days,  this phrase does not seem so corny, but oh so true. What a freedom we experience when we finally let go of our control and entrust it all to our God. So this is the phrase for me this summer. 
 
 You see, planting a church and having spiritual children for me was a lot like bearing natural children. Investment of all the heart and soul, sacrifice of time and selfish desires, to lay down ones life for those little ones God gives. As my old friend put it "little ones on loan". Sometimes, however, they really feel like ours, our property more than a loan, and letting go is one of the hardest lessons in life. But it must be done .....in order for children to properly grow into adults, 
 
 WE NEED TO LET THEM GO!
 
So it is for those "spiritual children" they need us to let them fly away to the heights the Lord has for them. I must admit....this was very hard for me to do with our church here in Smolensk. It was very hard for me to trust the leaders that the Lord put in charge after us. I kept judging every decision in my mind and sometimes with my mouth. As many of you know , I guess you could say, our church here in Smolensk has gone through Many hard times and now several have left. It was small enough that when a couple families and singles leave , you feel it. The problems the church was facing were nothing new. A couple of years ago Michael and I came over to stay for 5 months to try to repair the breach, to FIX things. Well, we were unable and those who had issues with The leadership and the way things were done have left. Even though it made us all sad, things are strangely peaceful now. Those who are here are happy to be here and there is a sense of oneness and unity that we have not felt in many years. They are all doing great.

The best part of all of this is...I am on the sidelines praying, not fixing, not judging. Simply supporting those who the Lord has placed together. I have chosen not to reminisce too much about the "good old days of Smolensk" but simply encourage the brethren here to fall deeper in love with Jesus, His word and prayer . To obey His commands and to love one another. What a freedom there is in trusting the Lord. What a freedom there is in trusting His people.
instead of stressing about everything, I am asking the Lord the simple question, "What would You like me to do today?" And then doing it. And if there is nothing to do then I will spend more time with Him. 

And as we have been learning back in the states, so it goes for us as parents of adult children. We pour our lives, our love and our faith into them and now we must step back and trust our Heavenly Father to do His work in their lives....just as He was so gracious to do in ours. He is the savior, not me. I have been restless and worried over things for a very long time. I have been in the habit of fixing everything for a very long time, now I am focusing on resting in His finished work and boy does it feel good.

i thought I would share this with any of you out there who are used to controlling things and maybe are feeling out of control. It's ok we just need to step back and take a rest..Learn to trust that Jesus can handle it! 

Thanks for for reading and God Bless.

Psalms 37:7 "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him"
 
 

Comments

Cindy&Bill Lynch
2016-07-25

Amen and amen. It seems the same season of learning in my life; let me be obedient but let God be God! Thank you for being there, may each day make itself clear..prayers for you and Michael in wisdom, love,grace, physical protection in all you do. Love you!

tim-n-charlene
2016-07-25

So I'm not the only one who wants to think of myself as being in control?
So hard to let go, Thanks for the reminder.
Bless you both.
HI Michael.
Tim

t_kopp@yahoo.com
2016-07-26

Thank you for your updates, Mary Lou. You have such a peaceful spirit. I am glad that your and Michael's time is going well in Russia.

2025-02-14

Comment code: Ask author if the code is blank