Control Freak...

Last week I had the joy of visiting my cousin, Cimbrey, in New Orleans on a work trip. We had a great time going to the French Quarter, visiting her favorite chocolate shop, laughing and catching up on life. There's something special about family and the way they just "get" you. Cimbrey and her husband, Mark, have been married for almost eight years and are in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia. We talked a lot about our background and families, beginning a marriage and life together, and how we wanted to raise our children one day.

Something Cimbrey said that really struck me as profound is, "When we're trying to control things, it's really an issue with us and God because it means we don't trust God to handle them." You see, as much as I don't like to admit it, I'm a control-freak... I like to be in a routine, scheduled, and on the ball. Don't get me wrong, most of the time this isn't a conscious effort, it's just how I've learned to do life. Regardless, when I take inventory of my actions and how often I say and do things in an effort to control situations, I become aware of how often I take things out of God's hands and into my own. The ridiculousness and truth of that makes me thankful for friends and family that provide wisdom and insight to both challenge and encourage me. Cimbrey's advice reminds me of Proverbs 19:21, "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that will prevail." Thanks cuz for sharing your wisdom as a woman who has walked the road several years ahead of me!