All our Christian life is about seeking surrender to Christ. In our sin we grip for control and that dates back to the Garden. But is control even possible? If you think about it isn't all of it an illusion? Now that can be terrifying or the most comforting truth there is depending on what you believe about who holds all control. But first, naming where we are gripping for an illusion of controlling our mothering can help us identify where the Lord might be calling us to deeper surrender.
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Resources:
Ben Stuart quote- "When you cant see his hand, you can trust his heart."
Alyssa Bethke book, When Doing It all in Undoing You chart mentioned initially from Raising boys and Girls Podcast...
"THINGS I HAVE INFLUENCE OVER"
* my thoughts
* my boundaries
*my words
*my behavior
* asking for help
* my choices
* my friends
* expressing my feelings
* my goals
"THINGS I DO NOT HAVE INFLUENCE OVER"
* the future
* other people's ideas
* the past
* other people's feelings
* the weather
* other people's thoughts
* other people's mistakes
* other people's actions
* other people's opinions
Quote from "Risen Motherhood" book-
“Even when well-meaning plans fail, we can surrender our will, our desires, and our dreams to embrace whatever it is he’s doing in and for us. This kind of submission will move our hearts from drudgery to delight. What if we accepted the beauty that God, in his sovereignty, wants to cultivate something different than we expected in the hours of that missed nap? We might have a fussy toddler on one hip and a screaming baby on the other, but circumstances like these press us into the joy of sanctification that the Lord graciously ordained in order that we might look more like his Son. He isn’t asking us to go anywhere that he himself hasn’t been. Isn’t this what Jesus did for us over 2,000 years ago as he prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). By his example, Jesus enables us to surrender everything about our lives for the sake of those around us (1 John 3:16).
This kind of sacrificial surrender involves prioritizing God’s agenda above our own, which often includes prioritizing the needs of those he has put in our homes above our own. As mothers, we know this isn’t always glamorous. But our Father orchestrated each of our lives—both the hard and the effortless— to remind us that every single thing on this earth is under his ultimate control (Ps. 103:19). And because of who he is—holy, good, merciful, just, loving, kind, omniscient, faithful, and wise, to name a few—we would do well to lose our lives for Christ’s sake, so that we might really find life (Matt. 10:39). Much like my husband signed his life on a dotted line when he entered the military, not knowing the details that lay ahead, but confident that he was submitting for the greater good, so we surrender to the Lord by dying to self a thousand times each day. What do we have to lose? For to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil. 1:21)”
The Serenity prayer- "God grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change, courage to change the things i can, and the wisdom to know the difference. "
Scripture mentioned:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 2:5-6
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2024/12/2548 分