The habit of yielding

“letting go” by Bonnie Jakobsen-Martin

“Let it go, and breathe into it,” the no-nonsense physiotherapist ordered, as he pressed his knuckles deep into my hip flexors and stretched my hamstring toward my shoulder.

“When you resist, you work against me and hinder progress.” 
 
Set on proving I can take anything he throws my way (which I can’t), I said nothing (while silently screaming every profanity I know)…and obeyed. 
 
And in that moment of yielding, laid out on a table, exposed, broken and hurting, I recognized God’s voice, calling me to relax in His care and accept the pain without knowing when relief will come.
 
Winding the clock back, I turned 60 in November. To celebrate, a few of us planned to bike 60 miles through the Blue Ridge Mountains guided by a pro cyclist who lives in Charlottesville during the off season. We anticipated the ride for months, even more so when our guide won two stages of La Vuelta a Espanain late summer.
 
Then, a Labor Day back injury sidelined me. Once up and moving, I plotted the path to a quick recovery and went to work on relieving pain and getting life (and training) back on track. Three hour sessions of chiropractic care, massage, and acupuncture a few times per week, combined with everyday exercises, stretches, and ice served up the feeling of progress and control I needed. 
 
Until it didn’t. 
 
Unexpectedly, a friend observed that I wasn’t making the progress I imagined and that a different path might be in order—a concerned voice that led to some honest assessment and reflection and cancellation of that birthday bike ride. 
 
And to a quiet epiphany about submitting to the caring hands of an unyielding physiotherapist.
 
For those of us wired to fix stuff (including ourselves), letting go of expectations about how life should be and feel and happen doesn’t come instinctively. Neither does reacting to hurt and disappointment by deeply breathing in God’s presence and promises, especially as suffering lingers or spreads.
 
Roy and Revel Hession remind us, “If we will bow to what God has allowed, and repent of our sinful reactions, we will find that that very situation has led us into a deeper experience of His grace and of His power to satisfy our hearts with Himself alone” (We Would See Jesus).
 
And Jesus calls us to this habit of yielding: “Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly” (Matthew 11, The Message).
 
Which invites us back to a simple practice throughout the ups and downs of our days:  
 
“Let it go. And breathe into it.” 

(Written by Barry Saunders)