I’m a Control Freak Who Realizes I Have No Control
I’m a control freak! There, I admitted it out loud and for all to see. My husband has been telling me this for years, but I shushed him and told him he was wrong. Now, many years later, I’m having to admit that he might have been right.
If you’ve followed me since the beginning, you know that I was VERY involved with my local General Federation of Women’s Club. I’ve served as Chairman of many committees, on every level on the board, including President for two years, and even on the District and State levels. Some of the ladies in the club had a nickname for me, which meant that I was a dictator who demanded control over everything. They laughed and joked about it at the time, but in looking back, they probably meant what they were saying.
When we held an event, I wanted things done in a certain way. Decorating the town, Christmas Tree, or event hall would drive me nuts if I wasn’t the one in charge. Even when my kids were young and decorated the tree, I would move ornaments around after they went to bed to help the tree “look” more presentable. I’m not sure who I was making it presentable for since our family was the only one who would be seeing it.
As the blog grew, it consumed more and more of my time to the point I was going to have to give up some things in my life. I had to step down from committees, go off the boards, and quit traveling to state events. Letting go of some of the events that I had been in charge of for years was harder than you think. I would see things the new person was doing, and it took all of my willpower to keep my mouth shut and not get involved.
One day, my sister and I were talking about a couple of upcoming trips we were going on. She was going to India, and I was going to Alaska to visit my daughter. Neither one of us like flying, and we were talking about how it is scary to put your life in control of someone you don’t know. I had no control over who was flying the plane, who had repaired or worked on the plane, where those people had been, or who got on the plane with me. Then, my younger sister pointed out that flying was no different from anything else that I did in my life. She said that I actually didn’t have control of ANYTHING in my life, but I was just under an illusion of control.
At first, I thought she was wrong. After all, I can control what I choose to eat for lunch. But can I really? Can I control the weather that allows the food to grow and be harvested? Can I control the grocery stores that decide what foods to put out for me to buy? What happens if the electricity goes off and ruins all the food in my refrigerator? Can I control the electric company?
At least I can control what I write on my blog, right? Umm, what if Google doesn’t show my content to anyone? What if WordPress decides to kick me off its platform?
The truth is…we really don’t have control over much of anything. If you dig deep enough, you’ll soon realize that we are all dependent on someone or something. However, this doesn’t have to be concerning; instead, it can be liberating. Since I’m not in control of hardly anything, then why worry? If none of us are in control, then you might wonder who is. This is where the good news comes in…the LORD is in control! And, honestly, I would much rather know that the Lord was in control than me.
Psalm 103:19
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
Daniel 4:35
35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, “What have You done?”
Psalms 115:3
3 But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.
This doesn’t mean we throw up our hands and do nothing. What it means is that the Lord will guide us, provide for us, and light our way. We need to believe, have faith, follow His promptings, and get out of God’s way. Quit trying to wrestle the controls out of His hands; He’s got this!!!
To God Goes The Glory!
Have A Blessed Day!
Ugh, such truth, Tania-thank you!
This realization is so true. Thanks for reminding me. So thankful our Lord and Savior has control of it all.
Danny Gokey sings a great song about this titled “If You Ain’t In It”. Some of the lyrics include. “I don’t want to have my way, I don’t want to run this thing if you ain’t in it”
I needed to hear this today. Thank you for your words of encouragement.
Amen!
Isn’t that the truth! I have problems with this also, I’ve had to relax my expectations to the point that I have no expectations. Things “after” Covid really changed, not enough staffing in restaurants or shops so the lines and wait times are longer, and simple things you used to do now are stressful. Well, maybe it’s just me?
Someone once told me there are only three things I can control .. my Attitude, my Effort and my Actions.
So, so true!
Thank you for sharing – hits home for those of us who can relate. And who can’t !
As we get older, I think it hits home in whole new ways.
So great to empower each other w God’s word and promises.
Thank you!!
Great message! I have to be reminded all the time that God is in control of everything and not me! When I do it is very liberating. But why do we want to take control back? Lol! God is working on me everyday to let go.
I really enjoy these uplifting posts. God bless you and yours
You and me both! Thank you for sharing.
Tania, this is my first time leaving a comment. I started reading your bog post before going to church but realized the time and decided to come back to it later. Today’s message at church was about whether we truly believe when we say “God’s got this,” “God is in control.” Do we mean it when we say it?! Our pastor took us to Psalms, Daniel and a couple of other books. Then I got home and resumed emails. Image my pleasant surprise to receive His confirmation of the message I was suppose to receive today. Today, you wrote about the illusion of control and how we can choose to respond to control. Today, my pastor preached about understanding His control, His will and not our will. I just wanted to thank you for being a vessel of His message for me today.