The Power of Letting Go

A long, long time ago, there was a young man who grew up in a modest home.  They did not live in poverty, but neither in plenty.  He definitely had all the basic necessities, but he also had big dreams.  He wanted to become a medical doctor.  There was no way, however, that such a dream could ever become a reality in this young man's life.

Born the son of a carpenter, he himself had the innate inclination for the trade.  Therefore, since a young age, he traveled miles away from home to find work.  He had heard that the Army Corp of Engineers were in need of laborers to build the facilities at the temporary base they were setting up in the area.  It was WWII.  Work was hard, but plentiful and so was the Root Beer!  He loved to fill the burn of the cold treat going down his throat in the hot noon-day sun.  The cheese was good too!  And the soldiers were generous so they let the youngster take some home to his parents and younger brother. 

This young man learned a lot during the time he worked building the base.  First of all, he learned he didn't want to be a laborer.  He didn't want to be a hired-hand all of his life.  However, he learned it felt good to be among hard-working men.  It felt good to be one of them.

Time passed.  The work finished.  A decision needed to be made:  what am I going to do with the rest of my life?

The realization that his vocation would not come to fruition did not deter this young man's dreams of having a solid profession.  So he went on to Normal School to become a teacher.  Graduating ahead of his class, at 17 he got his first teaching post.  The town were he got assigned was rather remote and some of the students were older than him.  But he had a dignity and a maturity about himself that always made him seem older than he was.  He commanded the respect of the kids and the admiration of his much older peers. 

Eventually, life brought him to the big city where he was able to get a job at one of the biggest high schools in town, which allowed him to attend college and graduate with honors.  Now he finally was a "real" teacher.  His reputation as a disciplined and honest hard worker kept growing, so when it was time to get a permanent post, he was assigned to the main high school at an important, growing town in the interior.  There, he was able to meet and befriend one of the important guys in the city, the Dad of the woman that became the love of his life. 

Together, they built a life...some have called it, a wonderful life!  A life characterized by endless hard work, but also much love. 

The years went by and he still remembered his desire of wanting to become a doctor, and how he had to let go of that dream.  He would have been a really good doctor, by the way!  But he also remembered, with a twinkle in his eyes, all the root beer, the cheese and the lessons he learned among the soldiers of the Army Corp of Engineers. He remembered his first job at that little, remote town's school where the kids were big and the task seemed impossible.  He remembered swatting cockroaches off his dinner, which had been left on a table for him to eat after his night classes at the university, by the old lady that rented him and other college students a rustic room in the big city.   He never forgot any of it.  It was part of who he was.  All those experiences, including the disappointments, made him who he became:  a hard-working, honest, loving, solid, family man...my Dad.

Labor Day always makes me think of him.  He lived a fulfilled life.  But that doesn't mean that he didn't have crushed dreams and hardship.  It only means that there is power in letting go.  There is power in trusting that if one door closes, others would open.  Other doors will swing wide open, leading us to unexpected joy and unpredictable experiences.  We just have one decision to make:  to be beaten by our crushed desires or to move along confident in the promises of God. 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55: 8-9

May we all remember this truth.  May we always remember that Jesus also worked relentlessly for our salvation out of the love that moved Him to create us.  Therefore, we lay our burdens and our dreams at His feet as we trust that the path He leads us onto is the path we will find the most peace because it's the path that leads to Him!