Let It Go, and Breathe.

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It seems that for the past couple of days I've been constantly reminded to simply, let it go and move forward. Change is scary but it happens and it's sometimes inevitable. What I have learned though is that it's not always such a bad thing. Different doesn't equate to worse. It's just not the same, and that's ok. In whatever situation I've been in that I've felt I needed to move on from, the key to really letting it go and being able to breathe, was feeling peace. A peace like the one only God can give. 
Right now I feel like I'm entering a new chapter in my life. God has been faithful throughout my life and looking back, I can see his hands orchestrating things into place. The other night while lying in bed thinking, it just occurred to me that I was happy. Not a false kind of happy, but more like joyful. Like I said on Friday's post, there is so much to be thankful for that it really doesn't give me another option but to smile and just say, thanks God. But of course, that all comes with perspective. In the past I've had to go through changes, that at that time felt like they would complete break me - until I let it go and felt at peace. Then my judgement wasn't so clouded by temporary feelings. I could see things the way God saw them. He wanted what was best for me and I could finally notice. 
It brought me to think, well why am I so happy? It all came down to one fundamental decision that I'd never really committed to until recently: I chose Jesus. I chose Him, let go of everything that I needed to, and breathed in His peace. I let go of the things that hurt me when I was a kid, I let go of any grudges, I let go of misconceptions, I let go of thinking about only myself. I chose peace. We were singing that over and over yesterday morning during worship at church and I couldn't help but smile because I knew that's what I needed. It stopped being something I did because I was told to do, it finally hit me that you actually need to choose him. He gives you free will and it's your decision whether or not you grab onto his hand when he extends it towards you. 
I've touched on this before but I feel like I've finally learned to live for the moments God is giving me now. Specifically, in my singleness. I spent so much time not being able to let go of the fact that I was single, as if it was a fundamental problem. It was time that I could have spent seeking God and enjoying this incredible time He has given me. Instead of focusing on who my husband will be some day, the most important issue to tackle is, "How am I going to fall in love with Jesus again each day?" Each day I wake up, I choose Him, above all things. Above my circumstances, my concerns, my fears. I just have to breathe in peace and joy and choose to let my day be filled with Jesus. It's easy to say that you choose this, but in practice it can be hard. Some days are better than others and I've learned from it all. It takes a conscious effort and constantly focusing on what's most important.
Some things are changing, and some things aren't. In any case, though, all I've asked for from God was just peace. Knowing that when I breathe in and let it go, I'm releasing anything that binds me from moving forward into God's plan for me. I'm only truly joyful when I choose Jesus, because I know that He chose me first. Nothing right now is ever as bad as it seems. I just encourage you to let go of anything that you've been keeping hidden or that you're letting eat away at your blessings. Choose Jesus and the peace that he offers us each day. It's constant and never changes, even if things in our lives do.