"We had hoped."
Luke 24:21 on the road to Emmaus, one of those walking tells Jesus: "We had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel" (NIV).
That first Easter morning, Jesus wadded up their expectations of his disciples and followers. They had expectations. They had hopes. They thought he was the Messiah. They thought he would overthrow Rome and bring the Kingdom of Israel back. They were wrong. Jesus had a different plan, one they should have picked up from his words. But they didn't.
So they stood at a crossroads. Hold onto this idea or let it go. They could have continued to hang onto their hopes, dreams, aspirations however misguided and walk away from Jesus and the life He brought. Or they could let it go and step into the wild unexpected unknown with Jesus.
In an instant, they let go of the old and jumped into the new!
That's the decision that each of us must make. Will we let go? Are we willing? Noted author Joseph Campbell wrote: "We must be willing to get rid of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is awaiting us."
So... what are you holding onto today? Is that thing holding you back?