My family and I were blessed to be able to hang out at my wife's brother's lakehouse this weekend. We all enjoyed the water and some time on the boat.

The highlight of my weekend and the topic of this post was TUBING. If you have never tubed before, I can simplify the goal of this heart-racing activity in just two words - HANG ON!

Hangin Out And Hanging On With The Kiddos

My three older kiddos absolutely loved being on the tubes. And it did not take them long to understand the goal. Say it with me - Hang on!

My oldest, Purple Panda, told me, "I can't believe I fell off two times." I never told her the goal, but she knew it. Holding on the longest is a sign of strength and skill. Holding on the longest feeds our competitive spirits. And even in my littles understood that holding on was the goal.

The Big Kids Wanna Play

After the kiddos took some rounds, my brother-in-law and I wanted to show off our skills. Remember that hanging on is the goal. The driver was now more determined to throw off the grown-up kids from the tubes. The speed increased and the maneuvers became more challenging.

My arms started wearing out, but I had a glimmer of hope that I could outlast my brother-in-law. Whipping back around from left to right, my tube slid under the edge of my competitor's tube (aka brother-in-law) and as he laid his tube back flat on the water, I flipped. My wife told me that I was able to hold on for a few seconds while being dragged underwater.

And at last, my fingers let go and I was floating in the water waiting for the boat to come back around. I don't remember holding on for that long. All I can remember is that when I came to the surface, my first deep breath was filled with lake water.

Somethings Aren't Worth Holding On To!

Do you remember the goal of tubing? Say it with me, "Hold on!" That's was the goal until it was not.

At some point, the goal changed. There was a moment (while I was underwater) that the goal changed from hanging on to letting go. There was a moment when the goal stopped focusing on fun and adventure and started focusing on survival.

I made a clear decision to let go.

Thing I Have to Let Go Of

Over the last 24 hours, my brain started thinking about the idea of letting go. The following is short list of some things I need evaluate.

Pride - I prefer to receive a compliment over criticism because I want to look good in the eyes of other people. My pride manifests itself differently than other people, but it is a struggle in my life. You can hear it in my words (as subtle as they may be), especially when I am trying to tell a story that is just "a little bit better" than the one just told.
Selfishness - Why I am still so self-centered? How come focusing on myself and my needs is so easy? Being a husband and a father has taught me a lot about who I am and my struggles. Sacrificially giving is not a skill many of us naturally have (myself included), and for many of us, it takes years of practice to think of others without regard to our own desires.
Misguided Dreams - I have a lot of dreams and goals. I dream big anticipating a greater future for myself and my family. And while I want to continue to dream big, I must also evaluate how those dreams impact the present. I am constantly reminded that I am neither slave to the past or future, but that I am tasked with living life well in the present. When dreams are thought out with intentionality, mighty things can happen. When they are misguided, they become anchors that hold us in the past.
Self Defeating Thoughts - This may seem like a contradiction to my last point, but I know that I often am my greatest opponent of experiencing significant change in my life. As much as I dream big, I am equally gifted at talking myself out of ideas and opportunities that have great potential. When we speak something often enough, we weld the power to make it true.
Unhealthy Dependency On Food - I run to food when I get stressed. To be honest, I run to food for all of my emotions. I realize that I need to not feed my face in sadness or in celebration. I need to control my consumption of calories instead of letting the consumption consume me.

Final Thoughs

There are some things in my life that I need to let go of - things that I have been holding on to for a long time.

The challenge?

Some of the things I need to let go of are struggles from 20 years ago, that I have tried to normalize or justify as I have compared myself to other people.
Some of the things I need to let go of are the shameful parts of my life that I don't want people to know about.
Some of the things I need to let go of involve forgiving other people and not seeking repayment for where I was wronged.

There are some things I will hold on to with all the strength that I can muster. But other things, things that may have been important to me in the past, I choose to let go.

This is a part of my spiritual journey as I seek to truly follow a Dude that claimed to be divine. My prayer is that I let go of the things that do not honor my Savior so that my hands are free to hold on to the things that are important to Him.

Can you relate to the tubing analogy?
Is there something that you have been holding on to that you need to let go of?
What do you need to keep holding on to, even with times are tough?

I want to hear from you! Let's continue the conversation in the comment section.

@SumatraNate

Image Source: This image was taken on my wife's iPhone. It is used with her permission.

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