Letting Go

Letting go is a hard but necessary part of life. It's healthy. The absolute hardest part of this process for me is actually realizing when it's time to let go, whether it be of a situation, a feeling I'm having, friendships, material things ... I struggle in recognizing the when. 

Letting go is an art form and a process. It doesn't happen overnight. In fact, it looms over me and makes me constantly think about the particular situation for days and days, sometimes weeks and months! Confession: I struggle with letting go. Of anything. Story of my life! 
However, I've noticed recently that I'm finding it easier and easier to truly let go of things, people, situations that aren't good for me. It's not healthy to cling on to something or someone forever when in reality, you need to move past it. So I guess you could say I'm getting healthier :). 
A big part of my progress in this area is my faith. Becoming closer with God has allowed me to truly and realistically give it all to Him. This means it's taken care of. Whatever 'it' is, God's got a handle on it. Now, I've known this forever, but as with anything these days, it's way easier said than done. However, I'm really making strides in acting on it, and I feel amazing! 

I have a post-it note on my computer monitor that reads: 
"Sometimes the best thing you can do is not think, not wonder, not imagine, not obsess. Just breathe and have faith that everything will work out for the best. Let go and let God." 
It's true! Putting this into action each and every day has helped me tremendously! I no longer fret over losing a friendship that I know isn't healthy anymore or getting rid of those clothes I'm never going to wear again. Like I said, it relates to every.single.aspect.of.my.life. For real. 
I'm not saying that I've perfected the act of letting go, but I've definitely come a long way. With that, though, I've still got a long way to go. But I'm proud of the progress I've made and where I am currently. I'm happier because of it. My husband is happier because of it. I stress less. I'm more calm in situations I have no control over. I'm learning to let go. And it's amazing. 
The really amazing part is when other people notice my overall happiness and the way I deal with something that usually would set me off. Case in point: very recently, Colten discovered his wedding ring was missing. Normally, I would absolutely lose it {and for a second or two, I did...}; I mean, it's your WEDDING RING! But, I calmly helped him look for it, at least until he came to realization that the last time he had it was at work. Ultimately, he concluded that he accidentally threw it away when he took his gloves off at work. {This would've been the time that the old me would've stormed off and yelled something not so nice}. Instead, I took a deep breath and gave him a hug. He was beside himself with losing it, and it was unbelievably obvious how hurt he was. Me blowing up at him wasn't going to help the situation. Instead, I let go of the anger I felt and told him that I loved him. Yes, he'll never have the ring I gave him when we were married. But does that change the fact that we're married or that we love each other?! Absolutely not. A ring is replaceable - especially if it's not something that's been passed down or anything. And the awesome thing is that I remember exactly where I got it from, and they still have the exact same ring, on sale. So, we will replace it and move on with our lives. He still loves me. He didn't do it on purpose. It was a mistake, and we all make mistakes. Who am I to judge him?! I took a deep breath, didn't obsess over the situation, and I let go. And oh how amazing it felt to not be completely caught up in my feelings of hurt and anger.  Letting go is good. 

How do you 'let go'? Do you struggle with it?