Control...

I've learned something in the last few weeks...

I haven't managed as of yet to transfer my learning from my head into my being, but I'm working on it. So here goes...

Firstly....Today is the most important day of my life. If you're anything like me you could possibly spend a lot of time pondering the past. Why things happened the way they happened, how it would look if they had happened differently, and worst of all, if I had done something differently, would it have changed the outcome of the situation I am currently in?? The problem with this...is that the moment has gone. No matter how much you think through the past, you can't change it. No matter whether your actions could have changed the outcome or not, they didn't, and yesterday is gone.

Secondly, you might like me, think about the future. What can I do to get the things I want, or to be the person I want to be. I am a hoper. I have this optimism that things will work out a certain way, and I spend a lot of time playing out scenarios in my head. But again, that doesn't usually change the outcomes in the long run, because my optimism often relies on how other people act and I cannot affect other peoples actions. Its nice to plan ahead, but today can pass you by if you're not careful...

And that leads to my point, a fairly obvious one...if you live in yesterday or tomorrow, today can slip past you. I've lost a lot of days this way...and to be honest I'll probably lose a lot more, because as easy as it is to understand, its much, much harder to put into practice. I find that I am fairly easily swayed by events. When things go well, I'm a happy little man, and when the don't go the way I want them to, I shut down...I worry, and I don't handle the situation very well.

Jesus said not to worry. That's tough! He explained that all we need, we find in God. He talked about birds and flowers, things that do not have the capacity to worry. But yet always seem to have the things they need. And he talked about how when we worry, it doesn't change our circumstances...

Wise words.

I'm working on this. I can't change the past, and I can't control the future....I wish I could. But I can't. So I need to learn to roll with the punches.

In Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller talks about how joy is temporal, and it's temporal nature gives it its beauty. To an extent I agree...but I need to learn not to be so easily swayed by events and situations I can't control. I need to learn to be happy, like Paul, in all situations, with nothing and with everything. I have to learn to find what I need in Jesus....

Sounds easy...

Its not...

But I know someone who can help me...