Letting Go.

Church was incredible this morning; Pastor Rob felt led to have the whole service be worship and prayer instead of teaching what he had prepped. I had the Lord give me to images that really tugged on my heart....

I'm on a dusty plateau holding a thick boating rope. The rope trails down over the edge of the cliff and halfway down is a net containing my life. I hold onto the rope for dear life, but I can only feel the net's weight slipping away. My hands are red with rope burn, my shoulders and legs shake with muscle strain. I desperately want to hold onto my net, to keep it from crashing to the earth below. Behind me, where the dust meets the pine trees, I hear God's voice. Calm. Let go. Come to me... walk with me in the woods. Let your net go; trust me.
I'm scared. The net contains all of who I am. How does He know it will be okay? Everything will shatter when it falls. Trust me. Let go, my Beloved.
The rope is slipping out of my sweaty palms. I can't hold on any longer. I cry out in exhaustion and frustration, but His voice covers my cry: Come to me! Let me show you. Let go, Mikaela. Let go. I listen, eyes shut tight, I release my weary grip and turn, running with all I have left to His embrace. Safe in His arms. I am able to rest and be freed from the worry of what happened to my net. He supports me and leads us through the woods down a gently sloping path. As we walk, He breaks off an aloe plant and rubs its slave on my burnt hands. Immediate relief. The further we walk, the more my net fades from my thoughts. He hums softly a love song. The path winds along His stream until we are in a clearing at the bottom of a towering cliff. I realize we are where my net should have fallen. I begin to fear of its shattered contents, but He wraps His strong arm across my shoulder and points. There is an empty net, the rope coiled about it. Empty? He redirects my attention and I see elgantly wrapped presents at the base of the cliff. For you, my darling. Trust me with them. Enjoy them. This is your life - open them. For you, my darling. My life restored... unwrapped, not trapped in a net, not covered with dust, not shattered to pieces. Restored.

A knot. Complete tangle of string. I keep trying to pick it apart, but the more I try, the more damage I do. I see His hands... one reaches out to me, asking for the mess. The other holds a pair of scissors. He's going to cut my life apart? I don't want it to go to pieces... Trust me, He says. Eyes shut tight, I timidly hold the knot out to Him. He takes it gently and all I can hear is the sound of His sharp scissors snipping. What have I done? I open my eyes and see my string in a million little pieces, but the knot is gone. And then, like a magician, He gathers all the pieces in His hands, rolls them together, and pulls out the long smooth strand. Restored.