Seriously ... just let go

It was 2005 ... I was traveling from Nashville to a small village in France to give my daughter away in marriage.  I had my wife, son and a friend with me.

The flights were booked so that there was not a great deal of time after we were scheduled to arrive until the ceremony was to occur.  No margin for delays, in other words.

And we were marooned in DC, unable to continue to NYC where our flight to Paris awaited.

Ground stop.

Nothing taking off and nothing landing due to weather.

I remember pacing around the airline lounge saying to myself something along the lines of:

'God, how come I am going to be the only Dad on the planet to miss my daughter's wedding?"

"Why me?"

"I cannot believe this!"

"Of all the rotten luck..."

It was a highly anxious moment of time for me.  Highly anxious.  Stress was breaking the speed limit inside my brain.

I prayed ... I fretted ... I prayed a little more ... I fretted a lot more.


I checked the airline's info line 5 million times for updates.

I incessantly worried the gate attendant with my non-stop 'can we take off yet?' questions.

If she had turned a Taser on me, I wouldn't have blamed her.

The situation was so out-of-my-control that it was ludicrous.  I simply had no way of controlling the situation and that was paralyzing.

As I was reaching yet another freak-out point, in my spirit, I heard the following words ... "Just let go ..."

It was as if a piece of mining equipment that had just flattened me was immediately removed.  The out-of-control internal stress finally obeyed a stop sign.  Peace replaced chaos and fear.

You know how stories like these end ... we made the plane and all was ok.

But what made a lasting impression on me was how little control we have over anything in our lives.  Oh we may think we exert great control but it is a cruel illusion.

That's why it is so logical, wise, smart, sensible, well-advised, solid and excellent to let go.

Constantly.

Let go and cede your worries to the One who truly has control.

Can you do it?