Love is Letting Go of Fear

There's a beautiful song by Olivia Newton-John on her 2006 CD, Grace & Gratitude, entitled "Love is Letting Go of Fear" that I absolutely enjoy listening to all the time. Her statement is very true. Love is truly letting go of fear. How so? Well, I will give a couple of examples how love is letting go of fear.

One Sunday at the Unity Church of Roanoke Valley, where I attend service, there was a guest speaker by the name of Reverend Leo Booth. Rev. Leo was quite a character, who hails from England, was an Episcopalian minister for twenty-five years before becoming a Unity minister.

The topic of his sermon was called "The Wisdom of Letting Go", which I immediately felt drawn to due to the nature of my existence over the past few years, especially this past year in 2007. He told us how at one point in his life he was an alcoholic. And one day, his mother, who had been enabling him and his dis-ease, told him, "Leo, I love you enough to let you go." He said he never forgot those words. Three days after she said that to him, he went into rehab for help to begin his recovery. He hasn't touched a drop of alcohol since July 4, 1977.

I thought about that statement Rev. Leo's mother said to him, "I love you enough to let you go." That's true love. It really is true love. Think about it. It's one thing to love someone so much that you want to hold on to them forever. But the real test of true love and the best way to eliminate fear is to love someone so much that when you realize it's time to let that person go, you do. Oh my goodness, think about it. That's the kind of love that God has for us. He loves us so much that He let us go to live our lives as we wish, making our own decisions, doing our own thing, and that's all right. Because no matter what, we will always go back to that quiet place inside of us that connects directly to Him - the heart.

Upon telling us this amazing story about his life, Rev. Leo looked out into the congregation and said, "Maybe there's someone you need to let go of." And he left it at that and went on to something else. What he said was brief, but it was powerful. And it made me think about my own life. And in the midst of tears in church that Sunday, I smiled knowing...

Earlier this year, I had to let someone go that I love dearly - my mother. It was the most challenging thing I ever had to do. Because it wasn't just about letting her go and no longer enabling her dis-eases. It was embracing myself. Loving myself. Something that I hadn't done prior to this year as fully and as intensely as I did this year. Yet, there was the 'fear' that if I let go she may die without me in her life. What if the next time she goes to the hospital it will be her last time? So many questions - so many things that 'fear' wanted me to consider while I was making my choices. I chose me. I chose love instead of fear. I can't live my life based on a what if. If I was going to let go, I had to let go...completely. Love isn't holding on when you know all you're doing is hindering yourself and enabling someone else. Love is knowing when to let go and doing it. When you can do that, you let go of fear.

God never promised that loving yourself or loving someone would be easy. For those of you, who believe intensely in the Bible you have read these words, "Love is patient..." Yes, love is patient. It teaches us patience. Nowhere in the inspirational writings that God gave the Apostle Paul the words, "Love is easy." Things in your life can become easier as a result of walking in love, but the journey from fear to love is challenging. Why? Because that's how you learn the lessons you need to learn. You learn how strong you are. You learn how to see the light inside of you that God placed there even before you were an embryo. You learn to see the light in others. You learn compassion. You learn patience. You learn trust. You learn faith. You learn kindness. You learn who you truly are at your core. And you learn how to walk in that truth for the rest of your life.

Therefore, I say to you the very words that Rev. Leo said to us at Unity on that Sunday when I cried and smiled at the same time, "Maybe there is someone you need to let go of."

May you walk your path in peace!