Control Freak

My wife told me this story about when she was a little girl, probably 3 or 4 years of age, she was at this petting zoo and she fell in love with these baby chicks. They were under heating lamps in a huge bin - probably a ton of them all chirping and hopping around. She asked her mom if she could hold one. When she was given the baby chick, she held on to it so tightly, that she suffocated the poor thing. She didn’t want to let it go. She cried and cried and never forgot that moment in her life. It’s true though in a proverbial sense: when you hold onto something so tightly, you’ll kill it, or in some cases, it’s like sand - it’ll slip right through your fingers. Even when we hold on tightly to “control” - the more we try to gain control, the less we have of it. That’s why it’s so important to just let go and let God. I remember a time in my life where I had to have every single thing in my life within my control. Ironically, everything in my life at that particular time was quite the opposite. Everything was way out of control, until I decided to just let it go. It was hard. When I finally did, things started to fall into place, where I originally wanted them to. We can’t control who loves us, who wants to be around us, how we want others to live, how we want others to treat us: we can only control our responses and actions. Nothing else.

Although I still have moments of being a control freak, I thankfully have the ability to come to God and meditate on it. Without the help of God, I’m a complete mess. I try to do everything myself, rely on how “I” can do it without the help of God. Reality is: I can’t do it myself. I admit to this. It doesn’t make me weak at all; it makes me stronger in my faith that I know God is in control. I read something my friend put on her Facebook status that said, “When God takes something from your grasp, He’s not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence: The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.” I read that about a hundred times until it finally sunk into my mind and heart. I don’t believe in “fate” or “destiny” - I believe in God’s will for us. His plan is so huge that we can’t even fathom it. It’s like fish comprehending algebra. The more faith we have in God - the more trust we put into Him, knowing that if we do let go, that He’ll guide us, protect us and will never give us anything we can’t handle.

The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.”. ~Psalm 139:3

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths.” ~Proverbs 3:5-6

For more of Deb's articles, please visit: www.debrapasquella.com or join her on Facebook and Twitter. Check out her cooking blog for some of her famous recipes!