From Pain 2 Purpose: Begin to Process Loss and Forge AheadSample

The Incremental Process of Letting Go and Holding On (Part 1)

As we are letting go of those unproductive elements that can creep into our lives, we also need to take hold of some new things. It is actually a process of letting go of the unproductive and holding on to the productive that enables us to move forward to a new normal.

The apostle Paul told us that for him to grow and move forward in his spiritual life, he had to both let go and hold on (Philippians 3:13–14, 16). This same principle applies to how we grow and move forward emotionally through the stages of grief.

When we see that what we are being offered to hold on to is positive and productive, it gives us courage and strength to let go of those things that are holding us back. It is an exciting prospect of letting go in order to move forward. That two-lane road will lead us back to hope-filled thinking and joy-filled living.

The reality is that you have been going through a “letting go and holding on” process your entire life. In fact, at every point in life’s journey you have let go of the old in order to hold on to the new. In birth, you let go of the protective and warm embrace of your mother’s womb and held on to a process of breathing on your own as a newborn. You let go of nursing in the arms of your mother and held on to the adventure of eating on your own. Eventually you let go of being under the constant care of your mother and father and took hold of thriving on your own. Life is a process of letting go and holding on, and it’s not always an easy transition. But that is how we come to experience renewed emotional, relational, and spiritual wholeness and purpose.

Every step forward in life requires letting go and holding on in some fashion. Healing from the pain of grief is no different.