Letting go and letting God isn’t just about letting go of struggle or challenges you face in relationships or within yourself. Letting go and letting God means letting go of problems of a physical nature too. Let me explain. I also call this: When God shows off.

How this Letting Go Challenge Began

When my mother turned 93, she had a series of four falls in one week. Thankfully, she didn’t break anything. But her physician and nursing staff made it quite clear that she couldn’t live on her own at home anymore. She required therapy to literally get her back on her feet.

Prior to this, she had broken her femur five years earlier. She would need therapy to recover from her broken leg. I visited several care facilities. The best one had no availability. This time, that care facility was available. A bonus was that it is located five minutes from my home. (Insert prayer: Thank you God.)

After a week, she would be able to return home, but would need around the clock care. Without someone keeping a watchful eye on her, the question was not a matter of if, but when she might fall again.

My mother didn’t own a car. Due to her broken leg, she couldn’t walk like she used to. She used to walk a mile each way to a little store in her neighborhood. She had outlived all of her friends. My mother was a very social person. The nursing staff fell in love with her. She enjoyed the attention. She shared with me that being at home was like being in a prison. She felt pretty stuck.

A permanent room was available, which was a miracle in itself. This facility usually has a waiting list. She made the decision to stay. God’s hand was definitely in providing the perfect place for her. (Insert prayer: Wow! Thank you God.)

The decision was also made to keep her house. While I mentioned that the arrangements for her care were permanent, I felt the need to keep the house. For whatever reason, I always had in the back of my mind that she would return to her home.

Several months prior to the falls, a severe storm hit the St. Louis area. The house suffered roof, window, siding, and gutter damage. Insurance covered most of it – another blessing. With my mother being out of the house, it made it practical to make improvements.

The inside was a total disaster. Home ownership and maintenance is expensive! It was understandable that unless something fell into total disrepair, my mother didn’t repair or replace it.

There was a lot of work to be done to make the place presentable for a renter. Help arrived from Robert’s missionary trip friends to clear, sort, and pack clothes.

After ninety days of organizing and clearing sixty years of stuff (the majority of stuff were bags of decades old bank statements, grocery receipts, prescription drug receipts, empty storage containers, etc.) along with repairing and replacing everything worn and broken, the task was to find a renter.

I have one sibling, an older brother. He lives out of town, so the responsibility for all of this fell on my shoulders. Arranging for my mother’s care, handling all of the legal details, and taking care of the house was all consuming. There were days that I could hardly put one foot in front of the other.

Letting Go and Letting God Phase 1

My brother asked if I had found a renter. There was still so much to do. I told him I let go of that task and I put it on God’s to do list.

Just after that, Robert had casually mentioned the house to Tim in his Bible study group. Tim was looking for a place. Renter’s spot filled. : ) (Insert prayer: WOW! Thank you God!)

Fast forward three years later. Dealing with taxes, insurance, and the thought of potential maintenance expenses we were not prepared financially to handle, the decision was made to sell the house.

My wishful thinking of my mother returning to her home someday was not realistic. With congestive heart failure, diabetes, and the fall issues, she is where she needs to be, thriving with attention and receiving great care.

Letting Go and Letting God Phase 2

Jeff, a close friend and business associate decided to get his real estate license. I became his first client.

For the first forty-five days, the house was not selling. Jeff recommended some adjustments along with lowering the price.

There was a big insurance payment due in another month. I texted Jeff and told him I wasn’t going to worry about it anymore and let it go.

He responded, “You know, it’s going to sell tomorrow now.”

Sure enough, the next day Jeff texted me with an offer. It was horrible – tens of thousands of dollars less than the listing price. I felt sick to my stomach.

Within a few minutes, another text came through with another offer. This one was wonderful. (Insert prayer: WOW, WOW! Thank you God!)

Letting Go and Letting God Phase 3

When I look at how all of this unfolded, I like to say that God was showing off when I let go and let him make all of the needed arrangements.

There was still a lot to clear out of the house, especially in the basement. One looming item was a behemoth of an old, long since broken refrigerator.

Tim had access to a dumpster at work, so he had taken a lot of broken televisions and other items of no value from the basement.

Here’s where things get really interesting! Robert and I got into the car to go to the house to clear out the last of the stuff. We knew we’d have to rent a truck, call an expensive hauling company, or ask a friend that had an SUV or truck to help us haul out the rest.

We were pulling out of our driveway when Tim called. He asked if we were on our way. He then told us that he was on his way to the house as well with a big U-Haul truck. We could take items to our house, Goodwill, and he would take the rest of the unusable items to the dumpster at work. (Insert prayer: WOW, WOW, WOW! Thank you God!)

As we walked into the basement, Robert and I were disappointed to see that the refrigerator was still there. Tim and his cousins were going to remove the fridge, but it had been too heavy for them to move.

We proceeded to carry stuff out of the basement to put in the trash. Tim comes around the corner and says, “There are two guys here to take away the fridge.” Then, following Tim, are two big guys! They only wanted $20 to take it away. We asked them about the other items that were broken. They took it all! Tim told me they asked if we needed the grass cut. He said, “No, but do you haul stuff?” Ask and you will receive. By the way, the gentleman’s truck had the FM Christian Music station’s bumper sticker in the back window. :) (Insert prayer: WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW! Thank you God!)

We got it all packed up and ninety-nine percent done, making it back home within three and a half hours.

I write a lot about healing and overcoming struggles. God is in the healing of letting go. But God is also in the orchestration of tasks we need to accomplish.

I hope this story has proven to you that miracles happen all around us when we let go and let God. And, by the way, we closed two days before the thousand-dollar insurance payment was due. (Insert prayer: God, I have no words but to sit in awe and give you thanks for your unfailing goodness.)

And that is how God gets things done – a physical example of letting go and letting God.

Have your own story to share? I’d love for you to tell it in the comments below. Do you need help in letting go and letting God, this meditation and prayer for letting go may help. Just click on the button below or this link: Send Me the FREE Letting Go Meditation and Prayer Now