"GOODBYE TO THE GONDOLAS"

Here lately I have been using metaphors to describe events and situations in my life. "Goodbye to the Gondolas" is yet another metaphor. "Goodbye" means goodbye, but if you have ever had to say this to anyone physically or emotionally, you know that it is not that cut and dry. "Gondolas is my metaphor for "romantic fantasies" or "lost love". Have you ever been in love? It's like a hot air balloon ride soaring through the clouds; higher and higher watching the world beneath you or not paying much attention to the world at all. For me it was like an out of body experience yet feeling every glance, every touch, and every heartbeat just the same. What if you are experiencing all of this for the very first time? What happens then when the air gets taken out of your balloon? You start to plummet towards the earth at a mind boggling pace. You land with a thud. You are left all alone curled into a ball desperately trying to put the pieces of your broken heart back together. Then you wait impatiently for the day when your heart will open again. The aftermath of a breakup is one of the hardest hits to endure and the effects are long lasting. Then when you finally manage to stand up and get your footing; the ground feels solid enough. "Wham!" You are hit with the "boomerang effect". All of the feelings that you have tried so hard to push down inside of you come rising to the surface. You start to ride on these emotions forgetting the cardinal rule that "Emotions can be your biggest enemy". What happens when that person pours his or her heart out to you about a broken relationship? You have experienced the same heartache because this was the very person to inflict the almost unbearable pain on you. You desperately what to stop his or her pain and suddenly the pain that you felt gets pushed aside. You view it as almost insignificant because nothing else matters than the person that you love has miracously come back into your life. We all have that place, a harbor in our hearts that nurses the romantic fantasy that "lost love" will be found again. What happens when you find out the person that you desire most in the world wanted you back? What happens when you lay it all on the line? You tell this person how you feel. No holes are left barred. You open yourself up so nakedly. You risk it all. Then that person chooses a new relationship over the old one because it has lost its newness and appeal. What happens when this person breaks your trust? This person is one of the few people you trust in the world. What happens when this person you loved, trusted, and respected turns out to be nothing more than a coward? He can't connect his heart to his head. He can't face you and suddenly breaks off all communication. For the first time, you realize that this person you loved and thought you knew isn't the same. The person is not the person you thought he or she was at all. Your heart gets shredded again by the only person you wanted to give it to. What happens when there seems to be a dark endless tunnel? The bottom has fallen out of your world or at least it feels that way. You are on this downward spiral until you hit rock bottom. You choose to wallow in this dark, cold, and lonely place until the tears stop falling and your heart stops aching. You are not living, you're simply going through the motions searching for answers to unanswered questions. Sometimes the people that we love come back and sometimes they don't. Sometimes we get answers to our burning questions and sometimes we do not. Then you look up towards the sky and see the sunlight peeking through the clouds warming you up in this dark, cold, and lonely place that you ultimately have created for yourself. If you are anything like me you look towards Heaven for help and comfort. You realize that you have not been alone after all. You can breathe again without feeling pain in the pit of your stomach. Isaiah 61:1-2 "He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness the prisoners to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." What is the answer to all of these pondering questions? The only answer there ever could be is "Letting Go". Goodbye to the Gondolas Goodbye to the hopes and dreams wrapped up in this guy When I looked up to the sky I uncovered my tear stained face I realized I was being sheltered by His loving embrace And guarded by His Amazing Grace For when I began to let go Only then could He show His unfailing love I knew that I was being watched from above From this heartbreaking experience I began to grow I could begin to rest even though On life's journey I will be put to the test To seek for my life His utmost best Then the unanswered questions that invaded my mind will cease There only will I be able to find His indescribable peace