There is a thought that gets shared around this time of year in northern areas with four seasons about how the leaves are about to show us how beautiful it is to let things go. My mind got to wandering as I considered this the other day. Yes, the changing of the colors of the leaves of deciduous trees is exciting and beautiful, sometimes even breathtakingly so. And yes, sometimes in life it is beautiful and important to let things go, to forgive, and to move on. But the tree that has lost all of its leaves, that has let everything go, is not the beauty we admire. When those trees are bare, it is the evergreens that draw the eye and enter in our celebrations. Anyone who has ever lived around evergreens knows that they do “let things go” but that they also hold on to enough to not become apparently barren. I believe this is how we need to be: evergreen.
Yes, let go of hate, envy, bitterness, grudges, even broken dreams. Drop those to the ground and stop wasting your energy carrying them around. Spend your energy growing in forgiveness, love, kindness, service, understanding, knowledge, wisdom, and relationships. Spend time tuning out distractions and tuning in to your internal compass as Emily encourages us to do. Follow Lyn’s advice to hold on to the virtue words as you become a woman of probity. Let go of things you can’t control and let God show you his miracles as Kallie has had to learn to do. Hold on to the grandeur of the ordinary of which Shelli reminds us. Take the challenge from Norma to reach out in neighborly kindness, especially to those who may be different from yourself. Be inspired by the St. George Cottage and by getting to know Lyn a little better. Use your internal compass as you sort through the things that take up the room in your mind, heart, and time to be sure you are holding on to the best things and growing, even when it is hard, because you don’t want to just let everything go and find yourself empty through the winters and droughts of your life. You want to be ever improving, ever hopeful, ever improving, evergreen.
