Out Of My Control

I couldn’t help but smile when I read the updated word prompt. Suzie said something along these lines. “Sorry gals. The prompt for this week isn’t ‘Out of control’, it’s ‘Out of my control.’”

My thought bubble read, “Aren’t they one in the same?”

What I’m about to share feels a bit like going to the pool for the first time after a long, sweater protected winter. The first light of summer hasn’t activated enough melanocytes to cover up the unattractive veins that inevitably expand after another winter season.

It’s hard to share our uglies with the world isn’t it?

But here’s my truth. When things feel like they are out of my control I can get out of control.

Vein’s bulge as I catch myself in a cuss word.

Red lines traverse further down my calf as I fight the desire to stay in bed and have a good ol’ fashioned pity party.

Spidery, blue rivulets gain more territory as my temper flares.

Being out of control is ugly at best…destructive at worst.

I could offer plenty of theories as to why I get out of control, but in an effort to save your time (and mine) allow me to cut to the chase with two observations:

Observation #1: I’m a sinner.

I’m broken.

I can be self-centered, self-righteous and self-destructive.

Believe it or not, none of the above is the real problem.

The real problem lay in my, sometimes stubborn, refusal to accept the solution that’s already been offered.

It’s called surrender.

{Ironic isn’t it that surrender is inherent in the very concept of recognizing that life is “out of my control.”}

Observation #2: God makes provision.

God met every need Adam and Eve could ever encounter in the garden. His greatest provision was in the intimate relationship he offered of himself. We all know the ending to that story. But true to form, God took the ugliest of situations and crafted it into something beautiful.

God made provision for our deepest needs to be met in the person of Christ. We have the opportunity to live not alone, but with Christ.

God knows that our lives can be battered by “out of my control”.  The phenomena may take varied forms…personal, relational, economic dysfunction. You name it, the hues to “out of my control” are many.

But what I’ve been reminded of in recent days is this:

My out of control behavior in response to things that are out of my control is reigned back in when I accept the simple, but life changing, truth that the one that controls it all lives in me! Honestly, I need another bite of chocolate because I can hardly get my head around that.

He lives in me.

HE lives in me.

He LIVES in me.

He lives IN me.

He lives in ME.

Every “out of my control” takes on new perspective because each hour of each day, each step of each journey occurs with the same security and certainty of a little girl dancing on her daddies toes.

Can you see it? Close your eyes. Wrap your arms tight around the Father’s waist. Gingerly place your toes on His feet and then——–

Give. Up. Control.

Before you and I know it we’re not where we started. We’re in a new place. We respond and react differently because we’re safe in the knowledge that we’re not in control. And then the truth dawns on us…

Our lack of control isn’t a curse. It’s a gift.

How about you dear DoAhead? Are you facing something that has you reeling because it’s “out of my control”? Would you join me in the Father’s invitation to dance? I hope so. I have a feeling that after a measure or two we’ll see our situations for what they are… not a cross to bear, but LIFE.

Rich, Replete, Resurrected LIFE.

“So friends confirm God’s invitation to you, his choice of you. Don’t put it off. Do it now.”  2 Peter 1:10

“Hour by hour I place my days in your hand…” Psalm 31:14

“Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me, awake and ready for me each morning, alert and responsive as I start my day’s work. When you find me, you find life, real life…” Proverbs 8:36

“The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you…” Col 1:27

I hope you’ll hop over to Suzie Eller’s #livefree community. So many sweet souls sharing their own take on “out of my control”.

Speaking of which, I’ll be gone for just a couple of days from my blog. Time to focus on the Missus and her graduation. There’s nothing like the passage of time to drive home how out of control we really are! Check in with me on DoAhead’s Facebook page. As always, I’ll be sharing some verses and others sources of online encouragement.

I’ll be back next week…blessings!

Your DoAhead Friend,