Letting Go

A report from today’s Miamisburg Triathlon…

The Bad News: My kayak is on the bottom of the Great Miami River

The Good News: I am not

The river current and depth were significant. As I put my kayak into the river just before the start of the race, the current took over and capsized me. I was completely underwater trying to free myself from the cockpit. When I resurfaced, I grabbed a strap on my kayak, but was struggling against the current, trying to get back to shore. I was failing and began calling for help. No one knew quite what to do and I was quickly left with a decision: let go of my sinking boat or go down with it.

Even after I let go, it was still challenging for me to get back to shore. Once safe, I walked back to my car, soaking wet, and drove home.

On the way home, the thought came to me, “Why is letting go so difficult?”

Most of us in our Tree of Life fellowship qualify as seniors and are familiar with having to let go of things. It’s a fact of life. Certain seasons of our lives are long gone, relationships change, we retire, we lose physical flexibility and strength…on and on it goes. We work hard in our younger years trying to establish a sense of self, as our culture strongly encourages us to do…but then eventually, you watch your kayak float away into the irretrievable depths. Triathlons and running have defined much of my life, my identity.

We often choose identifiers that are destined to fail. We become our careers, we become our hobbies and passions, we become the role we play in our families. In most cases, these are noble pursuits. But the older I get, Yeshua becomes more visible. Aging gracefully means watching our children and grandchildren move into their own, allowing our careers to stop defining us as we retire, accepting our changing bodies, and yes…letting our kayaks sink. My boat was gone…but Yeshua was waiting for me on the shore.

For, “All humanity is like grass, And all its glory like a wildflower. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, ²⁵But the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed as Good News to you. (1 Peter 1:24-25)