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Let Go and Let God
Or, just let go…
Let go and let god… been hearing this a lot lately. What does it mean? To cede control to god. In other words, to give up our belief that we have control over our lives. Usually, people have their come-to-Jesus moment when they’ve hit rock bottom or when rock bottom is in the headlights instead of the rearview mirror.
That’s when they “turn to god, give up control to god, and let god lead their lives”.
I let go when I was a little girl, sometime between the ages of 3 and 10. My dad died when I was 3. By the time I turned 10, I had tried to believe in a god. I wanted to believe in a god. My mom was- and remained until her death- a staunch believer but she did not attend church. So, I tried to go myself at the age of 8. I was precocious and questioning and just wanted to belong somewhere. There was a church at the end of my block in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin and I walked past it every week day on my way to school. I showed up one Sunday and asked about Sunday school. I think I went twice. But the platitudes that helped other kids didn’t help me. Or maybe, the other kids had parents that required bible school as a matter of course so they had to be there. My attendance was by choice, and the words from the church teachers weren’t adding up. It was like listening to bad fiction- pretend stories gathered together that contradicted themselves…