relationships

Before you roll your eyes because I have apparently quoted the by-now-overrated song from Frozen, I’m not necessarily quoting it. If we’re quoting anything here, it would be the James Bay song (which by the way is a great song! You should listen).

I am saying don’t wait to let it go in the simple context of what the phrase means. Recently, I found myself saying this to a friend. Someone who is kind of “waiting around” to let go of something is never going to succeed at getting rid of it. They’re waiting for feelings, emotions, circumstances to help the process along, but all of that is working against you. Natural human emotions will never let something go. So you have to make them.

Rather than waiting for yourself to let something go, make the decision to leave it behind. “I just need to let it go,” you say. And you say, for months upon months. Maybe years. But it’s not going away. Leaving something behind sometimes takes physical maneuvers. Changing jobs, cutting off communication, moving locations, resisting temptation, starting a new relationship…these are some big but extremely helpful ways to leave something behind. And other times it just requires you to work your mental and psychological muscles everyday until it becomes easier.

If you wait around to “let it go,” either by waiting for your feelings to subside or circumstances to change, it’s not going anywhere. Choose to let go NOW. It’ll be harder, yes, but that unwanted past will be gone sooner.

Fears come and go, some stay forever; some make us or break us; some bring us higher or destroy our worlds. There is one thing that pertains to all of them: they are to be overcome.

Some fears are greater than others, but they are all equally meaningful in their way. Here are five particular things I fear and thus must overcome.

Being a burden. Despite the incessant reminder from others that I am not, and in fact the opposite, I struggle with the thought that I am an annoyance to those around me. It is why I am so fearful of messing up and making mistakes, particularly if the mistakes have to do with others’ work. I must stop believing that and start believing that I am a blessing to those I help. After all, I have plenty of grateful proof to show I am not a burden.
I am an easy target. Being such a small thing, it’s fairly easier for me to get hurt. Since my major injury of breaking my back, which of course made me a little more fragile, I often feel like I am in some sort of danger wherever I am. I feel like anything can break me. It’s caused me to fear being around certain people, particularly tall, large men. God told me that he wanted me to trust him in everything, including trusting him with my physical protection, and trust is what I need to have.
Being in a relationship. Yes, oddly so. From what I’ve observed, romantic relationships never looked appealing to me. They seemed to only bring stress and sadness, at least to the ones I was always around. But I have beautiful examples of romantic relationships done right, like my sister and brother-in-law, that remind me that they are wonderful when you do it right. I trust that when the time is right, I won’t be afraid of entering a relationship that God ordained for me.
Losing my passion. I love writing so much, and I never want it to go so far as to become a means of support and nothing more. I hear those stories, how artists lose their passion because they no longer do their art for the love of it but because it’s a way to make an income. I never want to think of my writing as, “How much can I get with this story?” I want to write because I want to write. Period. Else it’s divine purpose would fade.
Wasps and hornets. Deathly afraid of them, right here. Makes swimming a little difficult to enjoy. It’s a work in progress.

What things are you afraid of? The first step is realizing. Once you know what it is, you can know how to overcome.