When Letting Go Feels Like the Hardest Part
Learning to release my ideas of how life should be so I can follow the One who sees it all.
I’ve been reading through my manuscript again, and I’m struck by how much letting go is threaded through every chapter.
Letting go of the ideas I thought I needed to hold.
Letting go of the ideals that shaped how I thought life should look.
Letting go so I could receive what God was actually trying to give me.
The truth is, I still wrestle with questions about how life is supposed to be lived. I don’t have it all figured out. But I know this: God has a way for each of us. A path. A plan. A rhythm we’re invited into.
“Faith is not about everything turning out okay. Faith is about being okay no matter how things turn out.” — Unknown
And I don’t believe He ever leaves us floundering—not truly.
More often, we flounder because we’re holding tightly to a version of life we expected, and when it doesn’t go that way, we panic. We grasp. We get discouraged.
But what if our version was only part of the picture?
What if we’re not wrong—we’re just limited?
Because God sees it all. And He’s not surprised.
We confuse disappointment with being off course, but sometimes it’s just that our expectations were never the destination.
The more I walk with God, the more I see how little I truly understand in the moment. And yet—how deeply He is still at work. Even when I can’t see it. Even when I would have chosen something different.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
— Proverbs 3:5–6 (NIV)
I’m learning that sometimes, the most faithful thing we can do is wait well.
Do the next right thing if we know it.
And even if we don’t know exactly what to do, we can still be doing—living with intention, moving in faith, choosing trust over fear.
Keep doing the good you do know: loving your people, talking to God, taking care of your body, encouraging others, showing up with intention.
You don’t have to strive or fix or perform your way forward.
We’re not called to figure it all out.
We’re called to follow.
And that starts with letting go.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” — Psalm 32:8 (NIV)
Questions to ask yourself and see what you find. If you are ever willing to share with me I would love to know what you came up with.
What are you still holding that God is gently asking you to release?
Where are you being invited to let go of your version… so you can follow His instead?