My life is out of control. Can you relate?
My good intentions are sabotaged with the demands of daily life. The unexpected takes over. My husband forgot to tell me about a change in his schedule, Mom wants to start a new project, or the dog gets sick on the living room carpet. You know what I am talking about. We all experience similar interruptions daily.
Interruptions are not necessarily a bad thing. Some are fun. Some are frustrating. Some provide surprising opportunities to witness through our words or actions. I get that. But a series of interruptions that has gone on for months has crippled my plans. As soon as I negotiate one crisis and began to settle into a day or two of normalcy, the next mini-calamity arrives. Nothing really bad has happened. I have to admit that many of the interruptions in my plans have become blessings. The point is that MY PLANS ARE NOT HAPPENING.
So how have I responded to this reality?
1. Gripe: All this did was to make me and everyone around me miserable.
2. Get angry/throw a temper tantrum: A bad idea (see above).
3. Laugh it off and say, “That is just life”: This approach was the easiest, but it left me frustrated. I suspect God has been testing my obedience to his direction for me to write because writing is the one thing I consistently have not been doing. Well, sort of. I write all of the time for myself, but God is directing me to write for others. My lack of productive writing time has led me to question whether God really wanted me to share my writing.
4. Use small segments of “found time” better: In theory this should work well. In reality, it only somewhat works because my days have been jam-packed. Normally the only “found time” I have is when I am drained at the end of the day.
5. Seek God’s direction: Well duh! Why did I not do this first? Finally, I reached the best solution to my frustrations with the unexpected happenings in my life. I have quit hitting the panic button–well most of the time. A peace overtakes my mind when I remember to ask God what I am to do, when I am to do it, and how he wants me to achieve his project.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33
I resolve to daily give God my projects and my schedule. What area of your life do you need to relinquish control to God?