Hanging in There by Lori Hadorn-Disselkamp

Hands sweaty, arms weakening by the moment, there is not a way to go backwards and if you extend a hand forward you may drop, just barely hanging in there, desperately hanging on not wanting to fall; we have all been right there. Not knowing how far down the ground is beneath our feet, scared to look down for the fear of the drop yet our hands can only hold our own weight for a bit longer...what is the alternative? So what would really happen if we loosen our grip and let go? Will we do major damage to our bodies or our egos? How long can we hold on in total control of who we are in this life? If we dropped who would catch us or would it just be a rough fall?

We all hang by those monkey bars thousands of times in our lives. We hang there in our relationships with others knowing we cannot go backwards and change the past stuck in the present not sure if we have the strength to grasp the next bar with that person anymore. We hang in there with our work feeling the lack of control, as more responsibility is given to us, more money yet more hours away from home, our palms become sweaty not sure if we can hold onto all that work entails and have any hands left at the end of the day for our family. We hang in there with our children unable to move forward and see that they are growing and that we have to loosen our grip to let them grow. We hang in there with our faith, stagnant, unmoving going through the motions of sitting in a pew and being there on Sundays but not ever being completely present, not willing to let go and give the control over to God to just drop to the ground and let God catch us. We are all just hanging in there in one place or another of our lives. We feel as though we are hanging on completely alone not another soul in life to be seen close by us.

The truth is that we are never alone when God created us He left a little piece of Himself within each one of us, it's called our soul and He wants it to someday return to Him. Our lives on this earth are a struggle with others, work, parenting and our faith life. What would happen if we just let go and stopped believing that we control all of it? Where would we fall? Do we have a tender place to fall in this life? Will a spouse catch us, a son or daughter hug us and kiss the scraped knee, will a friend listen and help us to our feet, will God whisper in our thoughts "I have never left your side, I am holding you in the palm of my Hand even now."? In letting go we gain new perspective on the situation at hand, a vulnerability that allows us to accept love, an openness that can move us forward and a sense of relief that the very worst thing that could happen did not happen, you will never be completely alone for you do have a tender place to fall, we all do.


Copyright 2010 Lori Hadorn-Disselkamp