Craving Control In An Out Of Control World
Do you have friends that can just read you up and down? I do. I’m thankful for them even though at times I wish their truth was a bit less…truthful? The truth can hurt. It can also, however, set you free. This happened for me last week during a particularly rough day. I was talking to a friend on the phone about my struggles with newborn life and how I felt terrible for even complaining about it all. What she said next hit me so hard that I had to stop and marvel at the simple yet profound truth it revealed:
“You’re not a bad person, Lis, you just crave control.”
Ouch. But wow, so true! The thing about life with a newborn baby is that you just can’t control so much of your day. A newborn may have a wonderful day of sleep and behavior on a Wednesday, only to turn around and be constantly fussy and sleep-refusing on a Thursday. It’s just how they are. They’re newborns. You can do the same routine each day and night with completely different results from your baby. And oh, for those of us who fight the need for control, how frustrating that can be to our sense of balance!
Ella has already had such an impact on my life in the 6 weeks that she’s been here. She’s shown me that I have some pretty major control issues that I have to surrender. I won’t be able to tell you exactly what my day will look like right now, and that has to be okay. If you’re like me and you feel off-centered when control seems to slip from your grasp, then let me encourage you today: we can do this! Not only can we do this, but we need to do this. It’s good for us to feel a bit out of control every once in a while. It reminds us that the idea that we can control even the smallest aspects of our lives is laughable. Often the things we find security and stability in are just giving us a false sense of control anyway.
All except one thing.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
– Hebrews 13:8
Is your life feeling out of control? Be encouraged! There is One who never changes. In the midst of the most changing and uncertain of times, He is the same. Isn’t that comforting? There is security! There is constant! There is stability! Find your anchor in Him. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. For this control-craving mama, that’s like medicine for my soul.
