Learning to Let Go

In this episode, I'm sharing some of what God has been teaching me about letting go. Letting go of old ways of working. Letting go of worry. Letting go of control. Letting go of the belief that I need to have everything figured out before I take the next step.

I've been discovering that life feels different when we loosen our grip.

Not because our problems disappear, but because we shift our mind and heart posture.

If you've been feeling heavy, pulled in too many directions or tired from holding it all together - this is your invitation to pause and see things from a new perspective.

While we can't always control our circumstances, we do have a choice as to how we shop up to them. 

Grab a notebook, and join me for this conversation.

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Transcript

Opening Thought And Introduction

SPEAKER_00 0:00

A deep change in the way that we live requires a deep change in the way that we think. I'm Carla Reeves, and this is differently. Hey there.

Mushroom Coffee And Cravings

SPEAKER_00 0:14

It's Tuesday morning and I'm having my coffee. I don't think I've told you that I recently switched to uh mushroom coffee. And I really like it. Surprisingly, I didn't think I would like it. I like the taste more than I expected. And the most beautiful part is that the coffee craving has gone away. So I don't know if you've ever tried that or thought about that, but I've been trying it and I really like it. Total sidebar. What's

The Burden You’re Carrying

SPEAKER_00 0:46

on my heart to share with you is that guess what? The heaviness that you feel on some days, the worry that you carry on some days, the burden you hold day in and day out in some seasons of life. What if it's not yours to carry anymore? Or what if you could change the way that you carry it?

A Long Season Of Letting Go

SPEAKER_00 1:10

I've been in a letting go season for, gosh, since like 2019. My dad passed away at the end of 2019. And my mom passed away six months later in about May of or in May of 2020. And then in September of 2020, our oldest son, who had just graduated high school, told us he was going to the Navy and left for Virginia that September, literally on the other side of the country. And our youngest has since left the Nest too. But the letting go I'm experiencing now, God's been leading me to set down old ways of the way I do work and run a business. For much of my life, I think my work has given me so much of my value. And so God's been asking me to set that down. Old ways of worry and living in fear now that my kids are not in my home. That brings a whole new level of fear and worry, which, if you're a parent, you totally get it.

Less Prep More Presence

SPEAKER_00 2:42

That's been a comfort for me so that I don't get caught off guard or look dumb. Even on this podcast in the prep for it, the message I keep receiving is less prep, more presence. Because if I'm always scheduled, planned, strategizing everything, and attached to my own idea of how things are going to go or my own expectations of how they should go. This keeps me all up in my head, spinning, and there's no room for spirit to move. I

Rested And Relaxed Mindset

SPEAKER_00 3:14

woke up in the middle of the night a couple of months ago. And I don't know if this has ever happened to you, but sometimes God speaks to me just like in word images. So it was just like I woke up and there was just this impression, and I just saw these words. When you are rested and relaxed, I can move mountains. It was kind of stunning. And I think I thought about it that night and tossed and turned in my bed for a while. And what it, what it meant kind of in the following days, um, was I was really looking at, like, yeah, that makes sense. Like when I get good sleep, I'm in the middle of menopause. And so sleep has been an issue. But when I get good sleep, I feel better, I operate better, everything works better. When I'm relaxed, I've been, I told you, like, I've been working to stay in a more relaxed posture as I work through my day. Like literally in my body posture. Um, and that's made a big difference. And so I was thinking, like, oh, that's really just a confirmation of all of that. But what's been unfolding since then is all I've been seeing all the ways that I get myself spinning, whether it's in overthinking or overdoing or over-preparing or over-creating, and all of that overing also takes me out of feeling and walking through life in a posture of rested and relaxed. And I'm so grateful. I'm so grateful to be seeing all of these ways that I was still getting in the way of what God wants to do in and through my

The Heavy Is In Your Head

SPEAKER_00 4:57

life. What if the way we've always been taught and shown isn't accurate? What if there is a different way? That's the journey I'm on, friend. I believe there is a different way. And this road less traveled is an invitation to you and me every day. Which road are we going to take? As you get ready to do whatever you have planned for the rest of your day. What if you just changed your approach ever so slightly? There's a quote I love that says, and I could never find the um author of the quote, but it's we all carry a load. The heavy is in your head. I witnessed this in my own life and in the lives of my clients. We all carry something, we all carry a load. But often the heavy is, we add so much to make it heavy in the way that we think about it, in the way that we see it, in the way that we approach it, in the way that we carry it. When oftentimes all is well in their world, when we really look at the big things and the grand scheme of things, the larger perspective, there's nothing really wrong, but they're carrying the weight of the world. Why do we do this? What if we didn't have to do this anymore?

Choosing A New Way Forward

SPEAKER_00 6:15

Often lugging around the past hurts and the brokenness and hoping this world is going to wash those away someday or make it better when things line up just so. I tried that road for a long time and I woke up literally empty. And that is the lie I had to confront that this world is not going to solve that for me. This world is not going to make that better. This world, when I get things lined up just the way we've been told uh things should be to have a happy, successful life, that is not gonna do it. It's up to us to make that interruption, to choose a new game and a new way forward, a new way forward. Set down the beliefs I've carried for way too long. And you guys have probably heard some of mine. You know, I had a story I carried for since I was a little girl of feeling weird and different and dumb and not fitting in. And that was my story for years, a heavy weight, a painful weight that caused me to shrink and play small and hide under the radar for much of my life. I don't know about you, but that's not the game I want to play anymore. There's so much to be experienced here in this life, exactly where you are, right in the middle of the circumstances you're in. Please, friend, don't let another day pass by without giving going all in for the sake of something much bigger than you. It's okay to feel big feelings. We're gonna, and we do walk through hard things. That's gonna happen. But maybe it's the way we walk through them where there's an opportunity for change. Resist the urge to wait for someday, seek it out, look for the answers you need.

Seeking God For Guidance

SPEAKER_00 8:07

In the Bible, in Jeremiah 29, 13, it says, You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. And in Matthew 7, 7 it says, Ask and it will be given. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open to you. That load you carry, friend, do everything you can to see it from new angles. Often the load is a gift that we can't see yet. Often the load is an invitation to set down control and pick up something different. Ask yourself, what would love do here? What would peace do here? What would patience do here? Often the load is an opportunity in disguise, and we just can't see all the pieces yet.

The Struggle Can Be Good

SPEAKER_00 8:57

I have said this before. Our son Shane always uh reminds us, but often we as parents are trying to remove obstacles for him to make him feel better or help him in some way. And he says, the struggle is good. You guys are trying to remove all the things. The struggle is good, and it's such a good reminder. Look back on your life of the blessings that came from the hard things, and remember that you have choice in the way you carry the load and how much you carry. Let's do this together.

Share Review And Stay Connected

SPEAKER_00 9:31

I hope these episodes are meeting you in your life and encouraging you. And if this one today encouraged you, help us spread the word and pass this along to someone you love. I wish there was a way for me to hear from you more often. If you've been listening for a while, I would love it if you would go leave a five-star review, share it with a friend, and let me know what this means to you. What are you hearing? How is this impacting your life? This is such a gift to me and gives me energy and inspiration to keep going. I hope you have a blessed day. I will see you next week. Hey,

One Takeaway And Free Class

SPEAKER_00 10:12

thanks for listening all the way to the end. Before you move on with your day, pause and capture one thought or takeaway that stood out to you. Write it down so it doesn't get lost in the noise. And if you're ready to go deeper, come join me in my free monthly class, conversation and guided writing to help you see things differently and move forward with clarity. Save your spot, Carlareeves.com forward slash free class.