The First United Methodist Church of San Diego, California, United States In Real Life "Just Let Go!" by Pastor Jessica Strysko for Friday, 6 January 2015

The First United Methodist Church of San Diego, California, United States In Real Life "Just Let Go!" by Pastor Jessica Strysko for Friday, 6 January 2015
It’s been a while since I’ve written about my dogs, so I thought it was time to share another story about them.

I have to hold myself back so that not every blog post is about Spartacus (our poodle mix) and Merlin (our boxer mix). They bring my husband and I a lot of joy, and if you’ve ever been a pet owner, you know that they hold a special place in your heart and life. As you can see in this picture of them, our dogs to play together – especially tug-of-war, even though they are quite different in size. As a result, toys do not last long in our house, and the best toys have plenty of space for two sets of canine teeth and a good place for human hands to grip. Fortunately for the dogs, we are well supplied.
Recently, we had a life group gathering at our home and when things were wrapping up, we let the dogs out and they were doing their usual entertaining. There was much laughter, a few plates and glasses that were unintentionally shared, and a few cell phone videos created. At one point, Merlin had the end of one toy that Spartacus just refused to let go of, and the result was that Spartacus slid across the laminate floor. At another point they traded playful growls, shaking their heads to try and loosen the other’s grip, and scouting backwards to try and yank it away. We spend a lot of time watching scenes like this in our house, and we love the joy it brings others who see it for the first time.
Watching our dogs play tug-of-war can be a comical reminder to me of how important – and how difficult it is – for human beings in particular to let go. Whether it is our need to take time to relax and renew (letting go of the to-do list), or our need to practice forgiveness (letting go of past hurts), we can all use a reminder from time-to-time to let go. The upcoming Ash Wednesday speaker, the Rev. Nicole Riley, will be speaking to us on this subject “Just Let Go” as we prepare to enter the season of Lent once more. Letting go is not easy, and we aren’t always sure exactly when to do it. But our church family is a great place to begin asking the question of how to trust God more and more – which is what it takes if we are to truly let go of the things that keep us weighed down.
I love it when the antics of puppies lead me to spiritual reflection – and it happens more than you could imagine. God is good, God is in our laughter and our times of joy, as well as present to comfort us in times of sorrow and loss. May God’s presence be visible to you today and always![Pastor Jessica]
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