Another wise observation from C.S. Lewis: “Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.”
It took some time and prayers for me to understand the truth of that statement. First, it has been more than a few weeks since I was on monkey bars and I had to visualize again what that is like. Second, I have had various types of painful experiences. How could that observation apply to each of them? The answer came to me with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Crossing monkey bars is a series of holding tightly with one hand while letting go with the other and reaching with that free hand for the next bar. In every painful experience, there is something we need to hold onto tightly and something of which we need to turn loose. What those things are depends on the source of our pain.
One of the most painful experiences is losing a loved one. I lost my mother at a young age and my wife in old age. In both cases, I had to let go of loneliness and self pity while holding on tightly to God’s promise I will be with them again, this time forever.
When I have been hurt by someone else’s actions or words, I had to hold on tightly to God’s love while letting go of the thoughts of revenge by forgiving them whether they asked for it or not. That set me free and gave me a free hand to greet the next person God placed in my life.
I might add that experience has shown me when we let go of the bad things, we should gently place them in God’s powerful, loving hands.