Do you ever feel like Caroline's duck, just along for the ride? I do. When times are good, I love it. I feel part of a beautiful story where I can sit back and let the breeze blow in my hair. I look around and enjoy the scene passing by me. When times are not so good, I hate the feeling of being that sitting duck, strapped into a seat that I would rather not be tied to. When the passing scene becomes littered with fear and uncertainty, my first reaction is to tense up and begin frantically looking for an eject button, and then to desperately try and get my hands on the steering wheel.Why is it that all the cares and concerns that we leave at the foot of the cross, we sometimes consider picking back up and fixing ourselves? Why do we start rationalizing in our brains that maybe we would be better suited for the driver's seat than the One who sees the road ahead with much better perspective? It is such a strong temptation as mothers. We were designed with hearts for nurturing, protecting, and caring, and sometimes we blur the line between our role and God's...oh how wish I would stop doing that. I want to be the mother that sits in the passenger seat with a relaxed heart, regardless of the scene around me. One that trusts the driver, even when everything my eyes see is telling me I shouldn't. I want to accept the gift of not having to be a Savior to my kids, as there is already A Perfect One who is willing and able. The gift of riding in the passenger seat is a lovely thing, but we can only enjoy it if we choose to unwrap it.
Linking up with Emily today as I attempt to peel back the paper of my gift. Click over to Chatting at the Sky and see what other gifts are being unwrapped.
Posts
8 comments:
You spoke to my heart. As I have struggled recently w/ my little girl not wanting to take her turn to pray during our family devotion time, it's been difficult to give that over and not take control of it. Today I'm going to try to trust Christ more and let Him lead my children where only He can. I will guide and follow while trying hard not to take the keys to the heart that only He can open. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Amy. You truly have a gift with words and know how to touch lives. I always look forward to what you have to say. Thank you for putting things in such a human/everyday life perspective. I hope you have a great day!
I needed to read this post this morning, God spoke through your words... and my situation couldn't be any more similar to Erin above. I want to encourage my daughter to pray, speak with the Lord, sometimes I encourage too strongly. So very hard to let go of control.. Thanks Amy.
This is beautiful, and a fabulous reminder. I do want to take over the steering wheel much too often, I think. :)
this is so beautifully put!! i'm in the middle of leading a bible study and last night we studied this very thing.
it seems so much easier to give God control of the things that we can't control {our salvation, our family's protection}, but why do we insist on clinging to the things we CAN control.
we need to "lean not on our own understanding" ... in EVERYTHING. only then can God begin to do miraculous things.
thank you for sharing!!
This is beautiful, especially as we prepare to be in the passenger seat as our oldest is learning to drive. giving it all too God goes against our flesh but is sooo worth it. I love the picture too!
I takes a willful act to not take the steering wheel or direct from the passenger seat. Having an adult daugther, I would release, then regrip, release, regrip. But it's worth every releasing moment when I finally gave it all to Him and left her at His feet. I loved this post!
Thank you for such a lovely, well-written post. This speaks so loudly to me at this point in my life, more than you could ever imagine - so I'm very thankful you shared this with us. :)
Post a Comment