EP 614 | Letting Go with Grace Lessons from Falling Leaves

We're going to talk about what it means to release, to surrender, and to trust God with the parts of life that no longer serve us. So, take a deep breath and let's talk!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello everyone, and thank you so much for joining me
for Daily Spark for Doctor Antelo. I'm your host, Doctor
Antelo by Shuster. You guys know who I am, and
you know what I like to do on my show.
Say it with me. I want to enlighten, inspire, and
empower you to become your best self. Now. Scripture reminds
us that the tongue is a small thing that makes

(00:26):
grand speeches, but a tiny spark can set a great
forest on a fire. And that's what we want to
do today. We want to get you fired up about
my topic. Today. We'll be talking about letting go with
Grace lessons from the Falling Leaves. So you know what
I'm gonna tell you to do. Go on, get comfy,

(00:48):
get cozy, get your coffee or get your tea because
we are about to get started. Hello everyone, and thank
you so much for joining me here on Daily's Spark
for Doctor Angela. I am so glad that you are
able to join me today. Well, I am your host,
Doctor Angela buds Chester, and I know that today is

(01:11):
going to be a little different. Why because we are
shifting into a new season, so our topic is going
to be very specific to the season that we are
in now. If you've been with us before, then you
know that all month long we have been talking about

(01:34):
learning how to walk in this new season that God
has given to us. It is not only the new
season of autumn, but it is always also the month
of Breast Cancer Awareness and we always have our Pink
Table talks during this month as well. That means that

(01:57):
we are celebrating faith, resili wellness, and the strength of
women everywhere during this month as a way to acknowledge
not only breast cancer awareness, but also the resilience and
strength that God gives us every day no matter where

(02:18):
our path takes us. So today we want to add
that layer of the beauty of autumn in itself. We
want to add that additional layer. So if you are
someone who is now thriving in your life, then I
want you to especially pay attention because we are talking

(02:42):
about creating a way for you to share your faith
your testimony with others. The trees are letting go of
their leaves. Yes it's true. They don't resist, they don't
cling to the past. Instead, they are releasing with grace,

(03:04):
and there's a powerful lesson in that for you and me.
So Today's episode is entitled Letting Go with Grace Lessons
from the Falling Leans. We're going to talk about what
it means to release, to surrender, and to trust God

(03:24):
with the parts of life that no longer serve us.
So take a deep breath with me. We'll settle in
and let's dive into today's conversation. Learning from Creation. When

(03:47):
I look at the trees in October, I don't see
panic in nature. I don't see the branches fighting to
hold on to their precious leaves. I see release. I
see trust. And isn't that what God asks us to do,

(04:11):
to trust Him enough to release the things that weigh
us down. Learning from the Creator through the created things
around us. Hebrews twelve one tells us let us lay
aside every weight, the sin which so easily besets us,

(04:36):
and let us run with patience the race that is
set before us. Sparkers, what are you still carrying that
God has been asking you to let go? Are you
holding on to too many bags of stuff? Emotional hurts,

(04:58):
physical hurts, spiritual pains. What's going on in your life
that you now should be able to set down? To
stretch out your arms like the branches of the tree
and allow it to fall off. Maybe it's fear, perhaps

(05:21):
its resentment. Maybe it's exhaustion from trying to do everything
in your own strength. Just like the leaves, that too
must fall so that the tree can rest, so that
you can rest and prepare for spring. These things are

(05:45):
a part of the natural cycle of life, and within
the cycle of life, there must be the falling away
so that we can heal, grow, we can make room
for the moor that God has in store. Now, letting

(06:06):
go doesn't always mean forgetting, oh absolutely not. It doesn't
mean that what's happening is okay either, But it does
mean that you're giving it over to God. It means
that you no longer are carrying it around in your

(06:26):
own strength, but instead you are trusting God to deal
with it in his mighty way. There is grace in
the release. Here's the beauty of grace. When we let go,

(06:52):
God holds us. So often we think that if we
release some if we choose to allow something to be
released from ourselves, then we'll be left empty. But God
remains in us. That's why we're not empty. Second Corinthians

(07:19):
twelve nine says this my grace is sufficient for you,
for My power is made perfect in weakness. I want
you to picture a person, maybe you've met her, maybe

(07:39):
he's you. You know that person. They have finally decided
to stop striving. He lays the burden down in prayer.
She admits that she doesn't have all of the answers.

(08:03):
They've cried, they're exhausted, and in that release they find
strength they didn't even know they had. See, this is
the grace that God gives to us. Grace catches us
when we let go. And isn't that exactly what resilience

(08:30):
really is, not just pushing through, but learning to rest
in God's strength instead of your own. It is not
a truth that you can do all things by yourself.

(08:50):
I really hate to be the bearer of that news
for you if you were trying to hold on to that.
But you are not in the world by yourself. We
were not created to be doing this as a solo mission.
We are meant to be in partnership, in community with others.

(09:15):
And because of that, we find that we are our
best version of ourselves when we aren't doing things simply
for ourselves, when we help others, when we see the
light in others and we smile because of that beauty.

(09:37):
We feel better about ourselves. When we assist someone who
so needed our attention, we feel better about ourselves. So
when we learn to let go of the things that
are no longer serving us, the lies that we have

(09:58):
been told, when we decide that we are going to
step out and into the life that God has created
for us, that is when we feel our best, when
we are being held in the Master's hand by his

(10:20):
grace and mercy. I want to challenge you today that
whatever you're doing, whatever you're holding so desperately onto that
which you are clutching, open your hand, open your hand,
release it to the Lord and allow him to make

(10:44):
and be the difference in your life. Release it like
the leaves in autumn. Trust that God's grace will cover
that space that was left, because what He fills it
with is far better than what we could ever hope

(11:06):
or imagine. Alrighty, everyone, it is time for us to
take a very short break. But don't worry, we will
continue this conversation. We'll be back right after this, and

(11:27):
we are back. Thank you so much for joining me
for Daily Spark with Doctor Angela. I'm your host doctor Angela.
That's test Today. Today we are talking about letting go
with grace lessons from the falling Lanes. Let's jump back
into that conversation. So there are always going to be

(11:47):
practical ways of letting go. So how do we let
go with grace? Let's talk about those steps. Number One,
you should pray with honesty. Tell God exactly what you've
been afraid to release. He can handle your truth, but

(12:12):
you must start with the honesty. For if God knows
our heart, why are you with your mouth not telling
the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Pray honestly.
If it is love that you want, say that. If

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it is money resources, financial reprieve that you need, say that,
if it is community friendship that you need, say that.
Whatever it is. Do you have a bad temper and
you're ready to not have that bad temper anymore? To

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deal with your anger or to deal with your bitterness,
whatever it is, say that. Tell God exactly what you're
afraid to release, and he will help you through it.
Number two, write it down. Sometimes seeing your burden on

(13:16):
paper makes it easier to surrender. Write it down, pray
over it, then tear it up as a symbol of
letting go. If you live in a location where it
gets really cold and your home has a fireplace that

(13:37):
I want you to add an additional step. I want
you to write it, pray over it, tear it up.
Here's the additional step. And then I want you to
throw it into the fire. Because it's over. It is done.
It has been destroyed. No longer will it be able

(13:57):
to come back to you in any way, shape or form,
because you have written it down, you have prayed over it,
you have torn it up, and you have surrendered it
to God. And it is done. So you can't go
back into the fire and retrieve it and then decide

(14:18):
that you're going to walk in it again. No, no, no,
because it is now ashes. It is over because you've
given it to God. Number three, I want you to
replace the weight with God's word. When a thought comes
back to you, I want you to answer itten scripture.

(14:40):
I want you to say something like, nope, I've given
it to God because scripture says nope. I've given it
to God because the word says nope. I no longer
hold that truth because the word says right. I know
that you've seen many churches on television or you've heard

(15:02):
pastors with their congregation and they have this exchange of words,
and it is so powerful because you're learning to get
scripture down in your spirit. That exchange is important because
it allows you to recall what Scripture says about you.

(15:24):
I am blessed and highly favored. I am blessed going in,
and I am blessed going out, so on and so forth.
I have the mind of Christ. Right, we are able
to we articulate who we are because we now have

(15:46):
an understanding from a faith perspective. No, I don't have
to deal with that because I've given that to God. Oh,
I no longer suffer from that, because I have the
mind of Christ. Absolutely, I'm not surprised that I was
given that position. I'm blessed and highly favored. Absolutely, I

(16:08):
knew that we would live exactly where we needed to
live to be able to do that which we needed
to do, because I'm blessed in the city and I'm
blessed in the country. Right, So it's like understanding understanding
who you are and where you are. Along this line,
that's why some people can stand and they're not ruffled

(16:35):
or appear to be ruffled by very much because they've
been taught scripture, they've read their Bible and they know
what it says, and they are now dealing with their
day to day with the full armor of God. So no,

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those days of getting under someone's skin or trying to
get them to argue with you or to do something
to you, those days are over. Why because you now
operate in the full armor of God and you know

(17:17):
that you've released all of that toxicity and you've given
that to God, and God has replaced it with his
grace and his mercy. And you're walking around now a
shine and light because Holy Spirit goes with you. Number Four,
lean on your community, a trusted friend, a prayer partner,

(17:40):
a support group. They can remind you that you're not
alone in the process, and that is so important. So
many times you talk about accountability partners because we want
to make sure that we are doing that which we
said that we were going to do. But you can
also use that group of friends to keep each other

(18:06):
exactly where God has us placed accountability in a different way.
Because iron sharpened, iron sharpens iron, according to Scripture, so
our accountability is not to each other but to the Word.
And because of that, we now can say, friend, you

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are fine. You're going to be okay because you're finding
shelter under the mighty wing of God. We can remind
each other of exactly who they are because of whose
they are. When they seem limited in their understanding of
who they are or what they're able to do, we

(18:49):
can remind them because we have not forgotten our word.
And that's how iron sharpens iron. We were all babes
in our faith. We were all babes in our career
at some particular time. So be it that it is
that you're leaning on your community because of faith, or

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you're leaning on your community because of work. There is
someone who can help you get through that time and
remind you that God still is holding you and you
are okay. And if you don't believe yet, you will
be okay because you are okay. Number five, Celebrate thus

(19:36):
small steps you've got You guys have heard me say
it before, and you're gonna hear me say it again.
Celebrate the small steps, even if you only let go
by a little bit today. Progress is progress right, A
win is a win exactly. That's what we need to
remember to celebrate the small steps. Far too often we

(19:59):
want to hurry through the thing that we've been praying for. Lord,
please give me ten thousand followers. Lord, I'm looking for
my thousandth sale. Lord, I'm looking for a million sales. Lord,
I want to make the best seller list. Lord, I'm
looking for right, Bring me a man, bring me a woman,

(20:19):
Let me have children. We're looking for the perfect dog.
Whatever it is. I need this job, whatever it is.
We've been praying for it, and then we get it,
and we don't spend even fifteen minutes. What a who
ha Jesus, thank you Lord for that. We don't spend
fifteen minutes with an attitude of gratitude. We move on.

(20:44):
Oh yeah, I got the dog, got the promotion, found
the man, got the wife, whatever it is, Right on
to the next thing. So what's next? Reflection and prayer.
I want to pause and invite you to reflect. Ask yourself,

(21:07):
what lief do I need to let fall in this season.
It could be hurt, Maybe it's a bad habit, it
could be fear of the unknown. Whatever it is, I
encourage you. Don't clutch it any longer, release it. You know.

(21:31):
I hear so many times when people recall the life
that they've lived when they think back over all of
their many years and you ask, for example, you ask
someone is there anything that you regret? And either people

(21:53):
are gonna say, I've lived a wonderful life and I
regret nothing, even the bad thing have taught me something.
I regret nothing, or you have people that says, well,
there are a few things that I regret I wish
that I had and then fill in the blank. The
interesting thing is that they are, in their own way

(22:20):
saying the same thing, but from opposite ends of the
line of the point of view. Some people have done
regrettable things, but because they've learned the lesson. Right, they
did a thing, it didn't have the result that they wanted,

(22:41):
and they wish that it had done been something different.
But they learned a lesson, a very powerful one probably
along the way. So did they get the result, No,
But they learned the lesson. Yes. Were they able to
take the lesson yes, and parley that into something else? Absolutely?

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Were they able then to achieve the result that they wanted?
Nailed it? Yep, that's it. So from that perspective, I've
lived a life with no regrets. Then we have people
who say, yeah, I do have a few regrets. I
wish that I had fill in the blank. I wish

(23:26):
that I hadn't worked so much, that I'd spent more
time with my children. I wish that I hadn't traveled
as much as I did because I realized that I
had to leave my family behind. I wish that I
had traveled so that I could have seen more of
the world. I wish that I had learned how to bake,

(23:52):
because now I want to make pies for the PTA meeting.
Whatever it is, right, So the things that you have
missed out on, the thing that you did not do,
it doesn't mean that you have to now therefore live
a life of regret. It just means that now you

(24:13):
have an opportunity that you are realizing right that certain
things were not done. How do you redeem that space
of regret? How do you fix it? And one way
is by becoming the person that you wish that you
had been. So many times I hear people tell the

(24:36):
story of my parents didn't do certain things with me,
and it left a space in my heart. But now, oh,
they're the best grandparents in the world. What's going on?
My parents yelled at me or they act like they
didn't particularly care for me. Now they're just all smooshy

(24:57):
smooshy with their grandkids. Start to what's going on there,
and far too often I have to remind people that
that parent was a brand new parent. They didn't know
what they were doing either, so they got some stuff wrong.

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And how are they trying to redeem themselves? They're trying
to redeem themselves by being great grandparents. The part that
they forget is to apologize to their child for the
wound that they may have caused. Now, how do we

(25:42):
fix all of that? We release it, We give it
to God. A long hour way in this journey of life.
When we sit down and start thinking about the things
we need to release, some of it's going to be
heavy like that, but once you do, you will find

(26:04):
that God's grace returns us to that lighter space. Let
me pray this over you, Lord, for everyone listening today,
whether the Sparker is here in the States or they
are around the world that they are listening to me

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live today, or they hear this at some distant time,
I ask that you give them courage to let go
show them the areas where they're holding on to you
tightly replace their fear with faith, their worry with peace,

(26:45):
and their heaviness with joy. But I ask that they
be turned to trust You in all things, with every burden.
Allow them to release, and may they see new growth
and due season. Hey mom, remember my beautiful Sparker. Letting

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go is not losing. Letting go is trusting that God
has something better in store. All righty, everyone, Thank you
so much for spending some time with me here today.
I hope that I have once again enlightened, inspired, and

(27:32):
empowered you as always. May the Lord continue to shine
his face upon you. May you receive his grace and
his mercy in all that you do. Until next time, everyone,
remember that you you are blessed in the Lord. Have
a great day everyone. Bye bye