I just arrived back from an interesting journey where I learned some lessons in walking into fear and letting go of control. In September my husband and I had signed up to go to a trip to the Holy Lands in Israel through our church.  Before I took off on my trip I was wanting to cancel it given the recent Gaza events.  I had been following it closely each day with mixed feelings wondering if  the Hamas group would ever come to an cease-fire and the trip would actually happen.  I had imagined all kinds of things in my mind and when I had heard that one of the bombs during these events had recently hit near the Tel Aviv Airport I became fearful of my safety. It felt really scary that we would embark on a journey not knowing if we would come back alive. It’s amazing what your mind can do to you!

We decided to go ahead with it since things had calmed down some before we left. As we embarked at the airport to leave we found that our flight was cancelled and we would be redirected to Frankfurt, Germany and have a 10 hour layover! What I learned is that when we set out on a journey, we never quite know where it may be going. We have to be open to letting go of our agenda and rolling with it which I am not very good at.

Our trip was full of lots of activity and touring through all the ancient Biblical sites.  What a blessing it was to be with wonderful people, great food, and a tour guide who knew everything we could possibly want to know about the area. We even experienced riding on a camel. Boy would that be a uncomfortable journey for those who road camels back then!

I always like to share the learnings I received. I am aware now of how much I rely on controlling things in my life.  I tend to like to control my husband, circumstances if life, and my work. What I continually learn is that if I surrender rather than trying to make it happen the way I want it, I am much more peaceful and things fall into place better.
Think about what you are controlling? Are you wanting to change your husband or children to meet your image?  Are you finding yourself trying to effort at things to build your business and not just letting things happen the way they are meant to?  I always like the saying in the Serenity Prayer.  The original one I found is this: “God gives us the grace to accept the serenity, the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.” The KEY is the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. We have our part to plan and put things into action, but not be too invested in the outcome.

This summer I read an interesting book by a top realtor who had quite a transformational experience. You might have heard of him in the real estate world. His name is Rus Whitney who was quite a top dog only to lose quite a bit of his assets when the market fell in 2008. His book is called Inner Voice: Unlock Your Purpose and Passion. I would highly recommend his principles outlined in the book.

Tips on letting go of control:

•   Find that sweet spot between what you can control and letting go.
•   Graciously accept your powerlessness over things.
•   Let go of the expectations you place on people to meet your image.
•   Accept circumstances the way they divinely come to you… there usually is some good in every situation.

Here’s to surrendering to your circumstances!

Suzanne B. Simpson