It is fascinating to me how much we believe we are in control. It is an extremely easy illusion to fall captive to. We schedule our days, weeks, and years as efficiently as possible trying to optimize our experiences each season. Even as our babies grow into toddlers and then to kids there are certain milestones and achievements we as parents think we should help them to attain in a very specific amount of time (Walking, eating solids, sleeping through the night, potty training, reading and writing the list can go on for days). Some of these goals are reached within the desired amount of time and this only feeds the “Control Monster” growing within our minds. When we hit a behaviour road block or an item our “little one” refuses to partake in (*cough, cough * potty training) we can be left feeling like failing parents who question our motives and our entire parenting existence.
This leads me to wondering if God has the same stringent time frame for all of our life lessons? Did Jesus come down to earth knowing that some of us would take a little longer with forgiveness, loving others and submitting to His will? God is the only one who gets to really be in control, and yet he has given us free will to mess around with. This, I feel, is very loving on His part. I liken this love to allowing your small child to put their own shoes on the wrong feet all by themselves. It would be so much faster for you to do it for them (with the added bonus of no blisters from the shoes rubbing on the wrong spots of their feet, and you wouldn’t look like that crazy family who literally and figuratively can’t get their shoes on the right feet), but they wouldn’t learn that the feeling of doing things wrong can hurt and maybe just maybe “Mom” knows a little something they don’t know.
This week I am praying that we can all rest in knowing that God has everything under control. Regardless of our short comings, stubborn nature and time frames. He is not surprised by our reactions and feelings, and that He will help make us teachable children who eagerly follow and obey Him without fighting for the “control”. AMEN!