Letting Go

Every season has its firsts, but fall has my favorites – the first fire in the fireplace, first hot cider, first frost, turning on the heat in the house and pulling out my favorite sweaters from the storage container.  I wait until I’m sure the weather has turned, that it’s not going to trick me with another few days of leftover summer heat. 

Unpacking winter clothes is no chore for me.  That wool, chenille and snuggly velour promise days to come of seeing my breath on the air, snowy meetings with grandchildren, and decorations of holly and pine.  

Sometimes I’m surprised with some piece of clothing that I picked up in spring on “super sale” so late in the season I never wore it.  It’s fresh and vibrant and makes me feel good when I put it on.  While that’s a delight for me, I keep digging until I come to my old friends.  I have a couple of sweaters that I always go back to.  They gave up their shape seasons ago and they have pulls and fuzzy balls.  I look pretty sloppy and careless when I’m wearing them.  But they’re my old favorites and I have a hard time giving them up.

Isn’t that the way with our old habits and tendencies?  We like to gossip, just can’t help it.  The shopping channels and catalogs lure us in just one more time. Our minds wander back to that person we tend to criticize and we mentally tell them just what we think.

We know what God knows – we cannot do this on our own.  He has said “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you…” (Ezekiel 36:26a)  We need this fresh start, not once or twice, but continually and consistently.  We need to go to God as many times a day as it takes to restore our sinful nature with a clean one.  He’s pleased to help us get rid of the old misshapen, fuzzy inclinations.  But I’m keeping the sweaters.

Psalms 51:10\

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.