Giving up Control

photo © 2006 Valorie Beaman | more info (via: Wylio)Control is a funny thing.  When everything is going great taking control is not hard.  When times get tough it is easier to seek someone else for help.  We also like to take credit when things are going well, and we like to blame others when things go wrong.  For me giving up control is a tough subject.  I've never been one to leave things up to chance.  I like to know what the plan is.  So learning to let go will take some adjusting on my part. 

For years I've made my own decisions concerning my life.  I would consider the pros and cons and make the decision that best suited my wants/needs.  Now as I'm searching for a new approach I feel a little lost.  How do you make the transition on giving up control?

I was thinking about the subject and I remembered a Bible scripture:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths. - Proverbs 3:5-6

Giving up Control is going to start with leaving  my path up to God.  I pray that  He will guide me on how to make the transition.  So today is the day that I am giving up control.   

The Blame Game

photo © 2008 Amanda Slater | more info (via: Wylio)When someone you love passes away you may find yourself playing this game.  The blame game works like this:  If I had only called my Sister the day she died maybe I could tell by the sound of her voice that she didn't feel good and I could have prevented her death.  Now, I know that my Sister was smart, she was taking classes to be a nurse.  She realized something was wrong and called for an ambulance.  But my mind goes to this place of blame.

The reality is my Sister and I rarely called each other on the phone.  So why would I have called her on that day?  Maybe I feel that my intuition should have alerted me that something was wrong with Erica.  Here's another one:  If I would have gone home the weekend before to watch her daughter show her sheep maybe Erica would still be alive.  As if we would have had a conversation about the antibiotics she was taking and I would have told her to stop.  Yeah, that wouldn't have happened.  So why do I feel the need to blame myself?

My answer to my own question is this:  It's my need to feel in control.  I would like to think that somehow it would have made a difference.  In reality I was not in control.  Ultimately each of us has an influence and we steer our ways through life but we're not in the drivers seat.  We are passengers trying to live our lives the best we can until we reach our final destination.