Let it Go!

From the Heart

Let it go!

“You hate your father,” he suddenly blurted out. I sat there stunned.

While having lunch with Larry Crab, a well-known counselor and author, I shared some of the deep hurt I had experienced when my father divorced my mother after 24 years of marriage, stripping me of my family.

After crying over those difficult words for the next several hours, I struggled through a sleepless night. Traumatic childhood memories resurfaced and plagued me. I longed to be freed.

Over the next several days, I wrote a letter to my father that I never intended to mail. I tried to list every single hurt, disappointment, and broken promise I could remember. After completing the letter, I crumpled it up and threw it into a blazing fire. As flames consumed it, I inched closer to freedom.

Several years later on one memorable day, my father phoned me. We laughed and chatted. When it came time to say “good-bye,” I struggled for a moment whether or not to say “I love you.”

In my mind, a battle ensued. But I said a quick prayer. Then I added, “Dad, I love you.” He responded, “Yeah, here too.” Four days later while I was cooking dinner, my brother called and simply said, ‘Pamela, Dad died.” I dropped to the floor in anguish. At 33, I had lost my dad.

Years later, I no longer remained the same woman that the author in the restaurant said I was; I had taken great strides towards healing. As I learned to let go of the resentment—whether I ever heard an apology or not—the wounds healed. Love had replaced the former hate.

At my father’s funeral, I shared my last four words to my father: “Dad, I love you.”

Let Go Inspirational Sentences Vol. 3

Behind the Artwork

Close-up of a section of Let Go

Let Go statements from the ArtPrize participants:

I’m letting go of over analyzing.

I will let go of excessive internet usage.

I’m letting go of the shame of getting fired.

I’m letting go of resentment and turning to gratitude.

I’m letting go of my need to control the outcome of my life.

I need to let go of allowing other people to affect what I think.

I’m letting go of judging others because I can only change myself.

Let Go and Releasing Control

Like the next writer, I, too, struggle with perfectionism. Perfectionism’s close cousin may be control. Why not write your own Let Go letter, and like me, give up perfectionism and control?

I am letting go of my need to have a perfect family, or my need to make it “look” like I have a perfect family. I’ll stop trying to fix people or situations, as if it’s really up to me anyway!
Signed, Katherine

Note: One hundred twenty-six participants pre-submitted Let Go letters and sentences to be collaged into the painting. The names and some details have been changed to protect identities.

Let Go of Loss

From the Heart

Close-up of a section of Let Go

This brave young woman agreed to let me print her Let Go letter. A story of rejection and loss. Her honesty and candor gives the reader a glimpse into the struggle of letting go. Often the act of letting go isn’t simply a one-time event.

Sometimes the hurt is so deep and searing that the healing doesn’t come overnight. The process can take years. For some, the steps of letting go—forgiving and leaving the past behind—must be repeated again and again before the sun begins to shine again.

Dear Trevor,

You hurt me more than anyone ever has. It’s the kind of pain that cuts me to the core and makes me wonder if I’ll ever feel okay again. It hurts like hell to find out you were just using me.

When I found out that I had miscarried, it was the darkest day of my life.

I think about my lost baby every single night and my heart aches. Trevor, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive you, but I will try. I will fight every day to get back to the person I was before I fell for you. I will remind myself that I am worthy of love and that I’m not ruined by you. So here’s to forgiveness—letting go and moving on.

And to my baby, I so desperately wish I could hold you. I love you with all my heart.

Love,
Sydney

Note: One hundred twenty-six participants pre-submitted Let Go letters and sentences to be collaged into the painting. The names and some details have been changed to protect identities.

More Let Go Inspirational Sentences

Behind the Artwork

Let Go statements from the ArtPrize participants:

Hand written Let Go statements

I’m letting go of pornography.

I’m letting go of a wayward son.

I am letting go of the hurtful words.

I’m ready to let go of feeling unwanted.

I’m letting go of trying to control my daughter.

I’m letting go of the fear of failure and rejection.

I’m letting go of the frustrations and limitations of getting older.

Let Go and Change

Meagan describes the insecurities many of us face. Even from a young age, many children already have an understanding of whether they are smart or pretty. But who defines smart or pretty anyway? What if every child was raised with Kathryn Stockett’s words from the The Help movie? “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” The world would be a more gentle place, wouldn’t it?

It’s so scary to let go—it might change me, and I don’t like change. But I want to let go of my insecurities and thoughts that I am not good enough or smart enough or pretty enough.
Signed, Meagan

Note: One hundred twenty-six participants pre-submitted Let Go letters and sentences to be collaged into the painting. The names and some details have been changed to protect identities.

Let Go of Pain

Behind the Artwork

Let Go in progress

Dad, you’re supposed to protect me from people like you. All I ever wanted was your love and approval. My heart longs for a real father.
Signed, your daughter

This statement was written by a college student whose heart bled through the pen as her pain-filled words gushed onto paper. Like this young woman, the majority of the Let Go submissions I received dealt with the emotional wounds from divorce. Both children and adults wrote about the devastating effects of broken and fractured families.

The opportunity to write Let Go letters and sentences helped individuals to identify an area in their life that needed growth or change. By doing this, new steps towards hope and healing resulted. The letter below was written by a young man trying to rebalance his life after tremendous hurdles—including divorce. Though his journey towards healing has been very hard, his strength and resolve to regain hope is remarkable.

Dear Dad,

I was abandoned in the womb—by you. Five years later, I was adopted. So I left my foster home to live in a new home. It was scary moving into a totally different place.

My new parents tried to love me, but they were too busy. In my new home, there was no discipline. No help with my homework. So I was abandoned again.

When I was fourteen, my new parents divorced. After that, things changed again. Now I would wake up and make my own breakfast. I came home to an empty house after school, and I had to make my own dinner.

Things didn’t work out with my new mom, so I moved into my new dad’s home. I started getting into trouble and doing drugs to hide the pain. One day my new dad called me a “loser” and kicked me out.

Dad, I don’t blame you or my new parents. Everyone had their own issues. Although I still struggle with the loser tapes playing in my head, it’s time to let go of my past. I’m letting go of rejection. I’m letting go of the anger from being abandoned. It’s time to search out my own destiny.

Love ya, Dad—even though I have never met you,
Your son

Note: One hundred twenty-six participants pre-submitted Let Go letters and sentences to be collaged into the painting. The names and some details have been changed to protect identities.

Let Go Inspirational Sentences

Behind the Artwork

Close-up of Let Go statements

Let Go statements from the ArtPrize participants:

I’m letting go of lost friendships.

I’m letting go of my body shame.

I’m letting go of changes that I think you should make.

I’m letting go of the past—everything that I cannot change.

I am letting go of caring about what other people think of me.

I need to remind myself not to look back and pick up what I had let go.

I’m letting go of unforgiveness for people who have betrayed me and hurt me deeply.

Let Go and Forgive

It’s hard to imagine what the loss of a child may feel like; let alone a situation where a child’s life has been taken by another. Yet Peter, the father, beautifully expresses his difficult journey—from hate to freedom—in dealing with his son’s death.

After my son’s death, I had to let go of the anger, and I had to let go of the hate. In time, I had to forgive.
Signed, Peter

Note: One hundred twenty-six participants pre-submitted Let Go letters and sentences to be collaged into the painting. The names and some details have been changed to protect identities.