Do you ever feel like a prisoner to the things that are coming at you?
One of the most significant changes that I experienced becoming “mom” is that anything that happened to anyone in our family ultimately affected…me. If someone is sick or has a bad dream, is struggling in school, needs cupcakes, or can’t find the toilet paper…who do they ask? Me. As mom, ultimately, everyone else’s circumstances become my circumstances. So if I am going to stay alive and avoid getting tossed around like a rag doll…I am going to have to make a conscious choice not to be controlled by my circumstances.
Not being controlled by my circumstances means that no matter what comes at me, I will be the same. It leads me to live in a way that is steady, built on the rock, reliant on my God. This winter, when my kids got sick, my dad got cancer, my youngest nearly drowned at swimming lessons, and my face was swollen from my jawline to my eyeballs, it meant that I claimed, “This life is a marathon and not a sprint. We will stride this out. We will not be taken down by our circumstances.”
It means that our God defines our identity. Our worth is found in Him, not in the way things turn out. So when things are messy, it’s okay, because our worth is found in the follow of our God and not in the messy circumstances. It means we live ultimately accepted, because we are accepted by our God…so we are not looking for the approval of those around us. Our God is steady, and therefore, we are steady, because we live with eyes fixed on Him.
Not being controlled by my circumstances involves passing the circumstances to God and holding them loosely. My son has an infection in his hand, and it’s changing what these last few weeks of summer look like. Not being controlled by my circumstances means that I’ll release those plans and ask, “Okay God, what do you have for us now?” I could wallow in frustration, or I can ask, and the whisper of kindness from my God will steady my heart.
I love the carefree days of summer and as months ahead seem to be filling up, I see the opportunity to choose again to not be controlled by my circumstances. My mind, heart, and soul do not have to be a slave to the things cluttering the days, but I must be intentional as I approach them or I will get caught with my head down, and I’ll get knocked over and miss the beautiful things God has ahead.
Keeping my eyes on God keeps my head up and out of the circumstances that fight for my gaze. We can lose days, months, even years on the things that clutter our minds and are ultimately not what we value. Ask God to allow you to keep your eyes on Him, on His purposes and plans for you. I am asking for that today, and even as I do, I feel my gaze shift back to the free life.
My circumstances will not control me. It’s simple to say, and over time, you will find it to steady the way that you live. This is the free life. This is the life I never knew I always wanted.
