The Art of Leaving It All Behind

This reflection explores what it means to release what was, honor the pain, and still choose to move forward. It’s about learning to let go, trusting God in the middle of heartbreak, and stepping into a new season with open hands and hope.

Alright… before we get into anything deep, I just want to say this:

this year was a lot. Like… a lot a lot.

This year brought great gain and great loss. I gained a new family, new love, new joy, new purpose. And at the same time, I lost my first love, my father. And there’s really no soft way to say that. Losing a parent is earth-shattering. It changes you. It changes how you see life, time, God, it changes everything.

Yes, there were good beautiful moments in between. God showed up. He always does. He's been faithful through it all. But I’m not going to sit behind this screen and pretend I wasn’t disappointed.

God can be good and things can still hurt. Both of these can be true.

Sometimes faith looks less like shouting “God is good!” and more like whispering, “God… I’m still here, but this is hard.”

Paul says in Philippians 3:13–14,

• “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal.”

  
  

Now, forgetting doesn’t mean erasing. It doesn’t mean acting like it didn’t happen. It means choosing not to stay stuck there.

If I’m 💯 honest, I’ve had to channel my inner Elsa this year and let it go. Not in a cute Disney way, more like a daily, “Lord, help me release this again because I picked it back up this morning.”

Holding onto this year won’t bring my dad back. Holding onto the pain won’t heal it. Holding onto disappointment won’t make room for what God wants to do next.

Isaiah 43:18–19 says,

• “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing.”

God doesn’t tell us to ignore the past. He tells us not to live there.

There are twelve months in a year. And unless you live in Texas where we experience all four seasons in a single day, seasons are meant to change.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us,

• “To everything there is a season.” Seasons don’t last forever. They’re not supposed to. Some seasons grow us. Same seasons break us. Some seasons stretch our faith so much we barely recognize ourselves afterward. But every season has an expiration date.  

So , I just want to encourage you, You don’t have to forget what hurt you, but you do get to move forward. You don’t have to pretend you’re okay, but you don’t have to stay stuck either.

Psalm 34:18

• says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.”

Not rushed.

Not annoyed.

Close.

Maybe faith right now isn’t about having all the answers. Maybe it’s about showing up with an open heart and open hands and saying, “Okay God… I’m ready for a new season.”

I don’t know what this next year holds. But I do know who holds me. And that’s enough to let it all go and move forward.

Love you fam 💜 

-Tiara