by Kimberley Woodhouse
I admit it. I’m a control freak.
There. Whew. It’s out in the open. If you know me, you can go ahead and laugh.
I want to organize everything, so that I feel there’s some semblance of order. I have a planner for my planners. Yes, literally. Multiple planners. Color coded. For every area of life.
Crazy, right?
And while this fun little facet of my personality is how God created me, I’m pretty certain His intention wasn’t for me to go overboard. To hold onto the reins so tight that my knuckles turn white. To try and carry around the weight of everything simply because I want to be in control. Or when things go haywire, for me to scramble and stress and desperately grasp at that thin thread I see as my control.
Are you wired this way? Do you wish for your sticky-note-from-heaven so you know which direction you’re supposed to take? Do you struggle for control? Do you feel completely overwhelmed by life and the burdens you are carrying? Yeah, me too. But even if you’re not wired like me, I’m betting you still struggle for control.
Over the years, I’ve had to learn some valuable lessons along the way.
I can plan the snot out of anything and everything. Which makes my brain happy because this is how He wired me to work. But that doesn’t mean that things will go according to my plan. What matters is if I am willing to be flexible to His plan.
It’s okay to rest in the fact of how He made me/you. You may be a planner. You may be a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type. What matters is that we are focused on Him and His will.
Scripture after Scripture point us to the fact that our amazing Heavenly Father is there with open arms. He wants to help us carry the load. He wants us to cast our burdens on Him. He can handle them. I cringe at the saying, “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” Because it’s not true and it’s not about you and me. It’s all about Him. So why don’t we change our thinking to: “God won’t give us more than He can handle.” Because we shouldn’t be trying to handle it in the first place. Trials and trouble and suffering will come. Yes, He made us with our unique strengths, but it is in our weaknesses that we find out who we really are and realize we shouldn’t be relying on our own strength. What really matters is our relationship with Almighty God.
No matter what happens in my/your life—I am/you are not in control. He is. And seriously, letting Him have control is such a relief!
In other words—lose control. Let Him take it, so that in our weaknesses we see God’s strength ready and willing to comfort and guide.
Are you flexible to His plan?
Are you focused on His will and not your own?
Are you resting in your relationship with Him?
Are you willing to lose control?
Hmmm. These are questions I’m learning to ask myself each and every day. Most days I’m all-fired-up with a full list of affirmative answers. Other days, not so much and my attitude needs a major adjustment. But I know where I need to be.
Until next time, I’ll be working on my planners,
Kimberley
Kimberley Woodhouse is an award-winning and bestselling author of more than thirty books. A lover of history and research, she often gets sucked into the past and then her husband has to lure her out with chocolate and the promise of eighteen holes on the golf course. Married to the love of her life for three decades, she lives and writes in the Poconos where she's traded in her hat of "Craziest Mom" for "Coolest Nana." https://kimberleywoodhouse.com
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