By Carin G Hansen
This season of my life has been more than a bit out of my control! I haven’t written an article in nearly two months and there is a good reason for that. Let me correct that last sentence… there are MANY good reasons for that.
Our beloved dog, Sasha passed away unexpectedly on the first day of April. We had been working for nearly two months with our vet who believed she was suffering from something quite fixable, only to find out there was something badly wrong in her brain stem. She was only eight and we were certainly not ready to see her go. She touched so many people’s lives in a wonderful way in her short life. Nearly 30 cards, flowers, phone calls and even several visits from neighbors just a few hours before her death are a tribute to how special she was. I keep saying “God covered her with his proprietary blend, special sauce because He knew she would not have many years on this Earth”.
Then we lost the second of two good friends to heart attacks a few short weeks after that. He had never had heart trouble, but was gone in less than an hour. I had the privilege of singing and playing at his funeral. It was an honor and joy to be a part of celebrating his life even though he will be greatly missed by us and his family.
Work itself has been quite a challenge, with many changes, more responsibilities and new opportunities. It seems the days seem to get shorter and shorter as I need to pack more into them. The opportunities have been incredible – but, of course the amount of work required to put together a whole day event or several evenings of speaking is very intense.
Add family times and an eighty guest baby shower for our first grandchild coming in just a few weeks and… well frankly, I am exhausted!
These are the times that I tend to want to try to control everything around me more. I am supposing many of you are just like me.
Now that I have leveled with you, I know you will understand that when I say “relax, God is in control!” I am preaching to myself and much as to you.
You all know the old saying “the hurrieder I go, the behinder I get”. Well, here’s a new saying spoken by me, on more than one occasion recently, that is just as true. “The more in control I try to be, the more out of control I am!”
Think about the reason you are trying to be in control. Because there is so much going on in your life. How silly of us is it to want to, and try to, be more in control during these craziest of times? As if we don’t have enough to do by simply trying to keep our heads on straight and get from one day to the next.
… and here is another reason why this is outright madness. Why do we want to be in control? That means we have to make all the right decisions at all the right times in all the right ways! Goodness, it makes me more exhausted just thinking about trying to make that happen. The truth is – we CAN’T make that happen. We are fallible humans and we do not do it “all right” ever.
The biggest reason this is grasping at control is counter-productive, is because it is futile. You are NOT in control of your life! You never have been and you never will be. We dupe ourselves into thinking we are yet, at the core of our being, we know we are not. That is God’s job. It has been from the beginning of time and it always will be.
Give up your hold on something you can’t have. Relax and be blessed with sweet sleep. Your creator has everything under control. You will find your mind much clearer to deal with what you must deal with tomorrow.
Next time you are tempted to take control back – and that may be a few minutes from now or a couple of hours – audibly say a phrase from a song that I sang as a child. “Let go and let God have His wonderful way.” It will magically lighten your spirit!
Carin Hansen has been helping women and men, of all ages, look their best through articles, blogs, books, seminars and workshops for much of her life. Because she interacts with many lives, in very personal ways, she has unique insights into the spiritual struggles both men and women alike face.
As a Christ follower and cancer survivor of nearly 21 years, Carin is very aware that every day on earth is a gift from God – not to be wasted. Please visit Carin’s website at http://www.bridges2beauty.net to ask for prayer. The resource page will link you to a variety of articles. You can also download a free PDF or purchase a hard copy of “A Woman’s Cancer Journey Primer” while on her site. Check out Carin’s blog at http://www.bridges2beauty.wordpress.com.
