That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 2 Corinthians 4:16

 

Hellhole Canyon. That was the name of the hike I’d started off on, a sunny winter’s day in the desert.

 

In her book, Aging Faithfully, Alice Fryling writes: “Some of us are just beginning to notice losses in our lives. Others have already noticed a plethora of losses that have accumulated over the years. As we notice the losses, God invites us to let go.”[1]

 

I noticed a loss on my hike, when what the trail map had called “scrambling” over boulders, turned into actual climbing. I quickly discovered that, although I may have climbed rocks in prior years, that ability was gone. I could feel bad about it or accept the invitation to let it go, and enjoy the beautiful return trip on the trail. “Noticing the losses and letting go are different experiences,” Fryling notes. “Letting go involves the choices we make in response to the losses. God’s invitations in the losses usually surprise us.”[2]

 

In the losses we suffer in all the seasons of life, God offers us renewal. Scripture says, “…we never give up. Though our bodies are dying our spirits are being renewed every day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). Every yes we offer to God in loss is an opportunity to experience His help and His renewal.

 

The Bible tells us renewal is available to us now in our inner selves (Colossians 3:10), our minds (Romans 12:2), and our strength (Isaiah 40:31). But Scripture also promises that one day, Jesus will usher in a “final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago” (Revelation 3:21). Are you willing to accept God’s invitation of renewal?

 

[1] Fryling, Alice. “Letting Go.” Aging Faithfully: The Holy Invitation of Growing Older, NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO, 2021, pp. 71–72.

[2] Ibid.