Why do we always want to be in control of everything? There are things in my life that I have hung onto so tightly. Eventually my white-knuckled fists had to let go. It is extremely hard to let go and let life lie where it falls, but what a relief once we are able to finally release that grip. A year after my parents split up I was so tense. One of my friends came to me, put her hand on my shoulder and softly said, “just let it go.” At that moment I broke and started to sob. I had been carrying around the weight of the world trying to get my family back together. That was not my job or responsibility. My responsibility was to simply pray and ask God for understanding into this situation that tore our family apart.

There are people and circumstances in our lives that are out of our control. We can try everything under the sun to rectify what is going on, but people have free will to choose what they want. Perhaps you have someone close to you that is lost, addicted, rebellious, ill, the list goes on. We can fight and fight trying to make it alright until we are exhausted beyond belief. The burden is not for us to carry. Jesus has compassionately offered to carry all our burdens, if we are willing to allow Him. So then, what are we supposed to do? The answer is pray. Pray for the people and heavy burdens in life that pull us down. Give it to God. Like many of us have heard before, ‘let go and let God.’ Ask God to help you see beyond the destruction that person is doing to you or themselves, so that you can love them. Ask God to soften them and speak to their heart. Walk through life knowing that you have done all you can, and you are doing the best you can by praying for them and loving them. It is undeniably one of the hardest components of relationships for me. To let go of what I cannot control. Trust me, there are constantly situations and people I want to kick some sense into. It is not my job to do that. It is out of my control, even tho the circumstance can be tearing my heart and mind up.

On the flip side, not everything is out of our control. There are moments and relationships in our life that require some intervention from us as well. That is where discerning the situation comes into play and taking responsibility for our contribution to the problem is required.

Knowing what to say or do takes wisdom and discernment. Letting go of what is out of our control takes courage. Allowing God to take control of the situation through prayer takes patience. What comes is peace that passes all understanding, that we did what we could when life is out of our control.

∼live your journey true∼