I was engaged when I was 22 and we ended our engagement, but it started a long journey for me of learning the lesson of rejection and how to walk through it confidently and not let it make my heart grow hard. I continued to learn those lessons over and over again for about 7 years. Then, I went through a complicated relationship that really didn't go how I thought it would, but I realized I had finally been able to put my lessons into practice, and I didn't feel devastated and heartbroken as I had in the past. I was able to let it go, and to remind myself of that and the strength I displayed, I bought a raw copper LET GO Giving Key necklace.
I have one other one, and I have always hoped it would come true in some way that I'd meet someone who needed my word more than I did. I spent the weekend in New York City with a dear friend from college who is going through a divorce. We've been friends for 12 years and I was at her wedding 6 years ago. We have been with each other through ups and downs, but nothing quite as low as this (and that includes her dad's unexpected passing three years ago). She fought tooth and nail for her marriage to last and be reconciled, but it just wasn't going to happen. And she really wanted to hold onto it.
As I was on the train up to New York journaling, I realized that I was wearing the necklace and that the words LET GO were really what my friend needed. Yesterday I gave it to her along with the book I had just finished reading, which was also perfect for her in this time. I wrote several pages in the book thanking her for all we've been through as friends and telling her about the necklace and how it will help her remember to LET GO of the pain, the fear, and the rejection. We cried, and we hugged, and our connection will forever be deepened through the symbolism of the LET GO key.
-Sarah
