Letting Go is God’s Will

This story begins with two chairs. Their former residence was a formal living room where they flanked two windows dressed in white plantation shutters that filtered light from the home’s southern exposure.

Their residence was also located in a zip code where a criterion of its resident’s status was how a home was furnished. So, these chairs had to make a statement that met this criterion which is why they shared the same design ancestry as distant cousins that graced elegant drawing rooms in European estates.

In this zip code these chairs “worked.” Their cherry wood legs were etched with an intricate design and carved to form a curved leg; their cherry wood arms were partially covered with an elegant fabric like a woman’s arm graced by an exquisite shawl. The wood continued its journey to create the chair’s frame that was bordered by yards of elegant fabric to envelop the intended luxury accustomed occupant. Whether for comfort or whimsy a lightly padded removable cushion in the same fabric completed its design.

Janice, the owner of this home, recalled the investment made in these chairs because of their design and fabric. The fabrics recommended by the designer at the up-scale furniture store reflected the trendy colors of the day in a dusty rose, sage green and cream. The fabric’s texture and striped pattern were also selected to impress individuals with discerning taste.

Time doesn’t stand still. It was now a time for Janice to downsize from this home with over 3,000 square feet of living space to a 1,200 square foot townhome in a casual, rural community. She sold or donated many furnishings and personal possessions but kept these chairs to seat family and friends.

Janice loved her new home and new season of life. Because she no longer had a bedroom set or living room sofa, she researched furniture stores to replace these items. Her chosen store provided a design service to help her select suitable pieces and create a plan to position the new and existing furnishings. Her design criterion was inspired by her new surroundings.

Her new surroundings included a glacier sculpted lake that bordered a forest preserve with marshes patrolled by white cranes and rolling hills networked by paths that welcomed weary souls to nature’s beauty. Her living room’s southern wall showcased three windows, without shutters, because the natural landscape provided a curtain of privacy. The view outside was a crabapple tree that retained fruit for birds that didn’t fly south for the winter. At the tree’s base was a tangle of ground cover that kept its vibrant green color in the winter months and gracefully circled the pedestal of a cement bird bath—a birthday gift from her son. From these surroundings came Janice’s simple “bring the outside in” design criterion.

The first step in this process was to have a designer visit the home. When the day arrived and the designer’s tour of the rooms was completed, she presented Janice with swatches of paint colors that fit her decorating criteria and said, “keep the chairs but reupholster them.”

Busy designers like to work with a bigger canvas than 1,200 square feet so she gave Janice verbal instruction on the color and design of the fabric to reupholster the chairs. She also gave her the name of a fabric store and the contact information for a local shop to do the job.

Chair reupholstery was a new adventure for Janice and her first stop was the fabric store. She was overwhelmed by an avalanche of fabric and after what seemed like hours, she discovered a fabric that seemed to meet the designer’s criteria. Hoisting the fabric wrapped cylinder she headed to the check-out counter and escaped with the rescued fabric.

With chairs and fabric in hand Janice let her trusted GPS guide her to the reupholstery shop. When she walked in, she thought it was staged for a hoarder reality TV show; furniture and fabrics were everywhere. One thought kept her from turning and running, this place was recommended so this must be a safe place to leave my chairs!

The chairs were promised by Thanksgiving but delivered days before Christmas. Janice was just grateful to have the chairs returned for at least part of the holiday season.

The transition with the move and other life events grabbed Janice’s attention but like the quiet stillness when the wind stops teasing trees and stirring water—she received the gift of quiet. It was then she paid attention to the chairs.

First, she noticed the reupholstered cushions looked like stuffed sausages as apparently, she didn’t order enough fabric to cover them and the reupholstery shop didn’t bother to notify her to purchase more fabric. So, there was wrinkling and pulling at the cushion hems that became obvious when the afternoon light streamed through her windows.

Then there was Janice’s “bring the outdoors in” decorating criterion for her new home. These chairs didn’t work. Nothing from nature’s outdoor creation meshed with these chairs whose ancestors graced elegant European estates occupied by those with no desire to bring nature in but to create an inner sanctuary of luxury to insulate them from the outside world.

The decorator’s recommendation to reupholster the chairs was not the answer. She remembered the time, effort and expense poured into this project. She learned you can’t take something designed for another life—make a change outside—and expect it to fit in. She thought, it’s like putting lipstick on a pig.

The simple act of paying attention led her to question, why keep these chairs?

Seating, was the first responder to her question. Nothing wrong with that answer. The practical purpose of the chairs was to provide seating for family and friends but Janice, knew there were deeper areas to mine for nuggets to answer, why keep these chairs?

Zip code? She no longer lived in an area where a resident’s status was defined by their furnishings. She turned from that life and didn’t let others define her. She knew who she was and her value. Don’t keep the chairs.

Design? She thought of her past life when she purchased those chairs. She was not the same person as that one in her old life. Don’t keep the chairs.

Fabric? She bowed to culture’s trends. She would not have chosen the original fabric colors. Don’t keep the chairs.

Reupholster? She believed an outside change would transform the chairs. She thought her move to the upscale zip code would make her feel accepted and special. It didn’t. Don’t keep the chairs.

It was time to let go of the old chairs and get new chairs. And that is what she did.

Chocolate brown leather, not fabric, covered the new chairs and their mahogany-stained wood legs were not etched with an intricate design. Soft rolled arms replaced semi-upholstered cherry wood arms and the fabric covered, detached cushion was replaced by nothing—no cushion at all.

The new chairs made a statement and that statement was, “bring the outside in.”

Janice let go and stepped into her new season. All because she paid attention to two chairs.

Let Go of What Holds You Back from God’s Will

Janice transitioned from one season of life to another. The chairs from her previous life didn’t fit into her new life and only when she became aware of what was keeping her from letting go of those chairs was, she free to step into her new life.

As God’s children we transition from one season of life to another. But it’s easy to hold onto what doesn’t fit any longer. Like Janice we need to take time to reflect on our previous life’s zip code, design, fabric and purpose to let go.

The chairs were purchased to gain the approval of other residents of the zip code. Do we people please and fear man more than our God?

The chair design was based on a past that was long gone. Do we hold onto regrets of our life before Christ?

The fabric selection for the chairs was dictated by the culture of that day. Are our decisions influenced by today’s culture?

Reupholstery didn’t transform the chairs. Is our life guided by the Holy Spirit or the spirit of religion?

Old and new chairs have a purpose and God has a purpose for His creation. He desires a relationship with His creation and we, His children, desire to live a life in His will. We are called to let go.

Scripture teaches us how to let go…

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39

“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62

“Do not store up for yourselves treasurers on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasurers in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Matthew 6:19-21

“And, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.” Mark 2:22