This week I had to let go of a tool I had held onto for about 10 years. It was cracked and chipped and I had glued it together and repaired it about 10 times. I guess it was time! I placed it into the trash bag and my thoughts have gone to it several times the last couple of days…. Maybe I could glue it together one more time… But yesterday I bought a replacement and life will go on, it was only a little thing, but it’s not the same, but that’s OK, sometimes we need to change.

How many things in your life are there of which you just need to let go? There is probably something, but hopefully nothing too serious.

I saw a movie recently in which a lady been married for a number of years, however she couldn’t let go of a special relationship she had with someone else other than the man she married. She lived in the “what if” world. What if she had married the other man? What if she had made different decisions in her life? Would she be happier? Would she be more secure in life? She spent all of her time holding onto something which should have been discarded long ago rather than change and accept the present. Aren’t we like that far too often, living the life of “what if”?

A few years ago my wife had to throw away a treasure. She had kept the first roses I had ever given her for Valentines Day for over 25 years. Somehow the box with the roses in it had gotten packed and shipped to Africa with the rest of our things. One day she happened to open the box to relive the memory once again and she found them molded. Even though they had been dried for many years, the humidity there worked its magic and destroyed the treasure and it had to be discarded.

Memories are good, treasured keepsakes are good, but is there a time to let go and discard those things? I would say, perhaps yes, there may be. Each must be measured by itself, but sometimes, even the most treasured things have to be let go from our lives. Why? Because those things often keep us from living in and treasuring our present life. Sometimes they keep us from treasuring new things, making new memories and building new relationships. Sometimes they can keep us from cherishing the relationship we have with our spouse or other loved ones.

Let me paraphrase 1 Corinthians 13:4: “Love is patient and kind. If you love someone you are understanding and are careful how you speak and act towards them. Kindness is the motive for all we say and do. Love is not jealous; it rejoices when the one you love does well and readily gives them encouragement because of their accomplishments. Love is not boastful or proud; those things cause us to look down on others who might not be as good as we are. They may cause us to say or do hurtful things that we will regret later. (Verse 7) Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

The key to loving is to know what things to throw out and what things to keep.

Russ Lawson is a volunteer citizen columnist, who serves Daily Advocate readers weekly with his column Today’s Challenges. He is the Director of World Christian Literature Outreach and can be reached at rlawson@wclo.net. Viewpoints expressed in these opinion pieces are the work of the author. The Daily Advocate does not endorse these viewpoints or the independent activities of the author.