by Catherine Ponder
Are you clinging to the thought of how some troublesome situation in your life can be made right, what shape and form the solution should take? Then release, loose, let go. Declare to the situation or personalities involved: I release, loose, let go and let God.
Do not be fearful of letting go. Nothing can ever be lost through spiritual release. Instead, your own good and the good of all concerned is much freer to move into your life. Through release, your power of attracting good is greatly increased.
One word of caution here about attitudes toward the tangible things you release. I once felt led to go through my closet and give away most of the clothes therein to my sister. These clothes were perfectly good but I had tired of them, and no new clothes had recently appeared, so I felt by passing them on, I was making way for the new clothes.
After mailing these clothes to her, I felt happy and expectant about the new clothes 1 was so sure world manifest. But for a number of weeks nothing happened. Finally, I realized that I was still mentally hanging on to the clothes I had sent her, thinking, "If I had that dress or suit I sent Sis, I would wear it today."
It was then necessary for me to re-release what I thought I had already released. In my mind I went over every item I had sent her and declared to each individual piece of clothing mentally: I fully and freely release you. I completely loose you and let you go. So far as I am concerned you have served your purpose in my wardrobe and I no longer need you. You are now in your perfect place. Thereafter, new and more beautiful clothes appeared very fast in my closet!
It was as though a "magnetic influence" had gone to work for me. A friend who knew nothing of my empty closet, quietly came to me and said, "I have some money I wish to share with you. When I prayed about what to do with this particular amount, the only thought that kept coming to me was that I should give it to you, perhaps for some clothes. You appear well-supplied with clothes, but the thought persisted and so here it is with my blessing."
That started the flow of substance which then came to me from here, there and everywhere. Some articles I had written had been accepted and so in a doubtful but hopeful mind I had revised them, weeks earlier, and re-submitted them. Now they were accepted and 1 was paid. Several people saw items while shopping and thought, "That looks like Catherine." They purchased them for me as gifts. In each instance, it was items of clothing I had been mentally imaging as hanging in that closet! One friend back home went on a shopping trip there. We had not corresponded in some time, so she had no conscious way of knowing about the empty closet. Nevertheless, packages arrived with gifts of clothing for me resulting from her shopping trip. She wrote later, "I just kept 'getting the feeling' you could use those various items, and somehow 1 could not resist getting them for you. I shall be very happy if you can use them."
I learned quite a lesson from this experience. None of this happened until 1 freely released the clothes I had sent my sister. A gift that is. not freely released after being given is not a gift at all. If you cannot give freely, don't bother. But if you do give, be sure you graciously release what you have given. Otherwise, no good has been done; no vacuum has been formed.