Learning to Release and Let Go

When I first started coming to S-Anon, we had a special meeting about trusting God to take care of our worries and deepest hurts. We were asked to write down our worries and cares on strips of paper, tie them to helium balloons, and let them go, symbolizing releasing them to God. As we watched them rise, one person’s balloon got stuck in an oak tree. The frustrated person grabbed her keys and threw them at the balloon, which shook free and began to rise again – but the keys remained in the tree!
This reminded me of my years prior to S-Anon and before I had come to rely on the slogan “Let Go and Let God.” When I came to S-Anon, God showed me there were still times I tried to control what I had surrendered. For in- stance, sometimes I would let go of my worries, but then tell God what to do with them.

Today when I let go, I visualize God while releasing the “balloon,” knowing He receives whatever it is I surrender at the point of release. In my visualization, God is in control of where the balloon lands. This means God is in control of the outcome.

Reprinted from S-Anon’s Reflections of Hope, page 255.