Yesterday was quite a busy day. Connor had his preschool "Harvest Festival" at a Ranch in Cave Creek, AZ in addition to a birthday party. This wasn't Payton's idea of fun...hanging out with 3 and 4 year-olds all day. So, we let her go to the Schnepfs Farm Pumpkin Patch with her friend Madeline's family. Jim dropped Payton off at 10am and we wouldn't see her again until 8:30pm. Jim, Connor and I were busy for a few hours at the Festival...taking hay rides, playing pumpkin bowling, petting baby horses.....After that we had a small late lunch and ran our errands for Payton's upcoming school party. I was in control of the schedule! We needed to be home in time for Payton to arrive. So, the boys and I arrived home around 3pm and decided to do some work around the house.....Jim and Connor hosed off all the patios while I did the usual indoor stuff. It was dinnertime, I thought for sure Payton would walk through that door at any moment. Dinner came and passed. Bath time came and passed. Connor was now snoozing for the night. Payton was STILL not home. Let me just say that I totally trust our friends Matt and Diane with Payton and I have no doubt she was having a wonderful time. But, I began to feel like I wasn't in control of things...I wasn't in control of her. Control is something that makes me feel safe, in charge, handling the situation. I struggle with control issues. I feel out-of-control if I'm not IN control. This is a another issue I struggle with when it comes to faith. It's just easy to trust God when things are going well, things are in control.....but the minute things get "out of control" the whole picture changes. Trusting that God is in control becomes more difficult. First, we don't know what to expect or what the reason is for the particular situation. We tend to loose sight of the fact that God uses all circumstances for good. I personally kick into "problem solving" mode when things aren't going well and I stress myself out and turn my house into turmoil sometimes to try to "fix" any given situation. I am willing to bet that this is not how God wants me to handle difficult situations in my life. I know in my heart that God wants me to give up control, to rest in the fact that He will never give me anything I can't handle and to trust Him. In my humanness (is that a word?), this can be hard to do.....but I am working on it with God's help.
1 comment:
I think I would be shocked if I ever felt totally in control. Maybe that is why I really do trust that God is in control. I mean since I'm not....... LOL
We had a preparation for "Bring a Friend Sunday" today at church. The pastor said we should pray and ask God to bring someone to mind that we should invite. Well, I did that and the person who came to mind is a colleague. This guy is pretty head strong. He has a grudge against God and the church, specifically the Catholic church. Their family was in a car accident during the Christmas holiday some years ago. His only son was killed in that accident. Apparently the guy who caused the accident got off with a slap on the wrist.
So I think I have my work cut out for me. I guess the worst that can happen is that he says "no". I have thought about going to his wife first. Actually she was the social worker when Grama Dorothy was in the hospital. Hmmm pray that I know what to say and when to say it this week. I can only plant the seed but how and when I plant it could be important!
Post a Comment