Table Salt: Under the table

Looking around Miami County, you will see leaves falling off trees in a vast array of vibrant colors. As winter approaches, trees drop their leaves. In our part of the country, it gets cold. Rather than expend energy into hanging onto the leaves, trees shed them to conserve resources. 

This week, my daughter and I watched a maple tree in our yard release a golden yellow leaf. Before the leaf could land on the ground, a barbed wire fence snagged it. Watching in silence, I felt the tree’s release of the leaf in a personal place in my heart. The leaf flapped in the fall wind as it tried to escape the sharp barbed wire. My daughter ran to capture a picture of the leaf as I mulled over what was unfolding in my spirit. 

Like trees, we also need to drop leaves in order to care for ourselves. While we don’t have leaves, we do have burdens, trauma, and worries that we hang onto. As we begin a healing journey, we may be able to let go of those leaves a little at a time. We will feel lighter with each leaf that we release. 

It is a challenge to relinquish everything we hold onto to God completely. Sometimes, we try to let things go, only to find they are caught on the fence. Continue to go before God in prayer, asking for help to shed the things that weigh you down. We can be strong and steady trees when we grow in Christ’s will for our lives. With His strength, we can release all the past hurt that we have hung onto for many seasons. 

It can be scary to drop our leaves. It will take time to get used to bare branches, but we need to create room for God to begin doing something new. Shedding the past paves the way for new growth to sprout. Growing in Christ comes with promises that He will do great work in your life. The more burdens that you can release, the lighter you will become. 

Living in Christ means living more freely. This week, be still and listen to what God is calling you to drop. Holding onto leaves from past seasons puts a strain on your emotional and physical well-being. Shed, release, and relinquish everything that is heavy and blocks you from growing in God. 

“Be still. Let go and let God.” Psalm 46:10.

Contact Ashley at ashley@tippgazette.com

Or Mail:

Tippecanoe Gazette

Attn: Ashley Spring McCarroll

PO Box 84

Tipp City, Ohio 45371