Control What We Can Control

Control What We Can Control

During a prolonged drought-causing oppressive heat wave that hit our area of Texas last summer, I learned several things. The most important, I believe, is that we can only control what we can control.

Triple digit temperatures were the norm for far longer than I care to remember. It wasn’t bad enough our vegetation suffered through a prolonged freeze the winter before that killed most of our plants. Now, it seemed, the heat and drought were determined to finish off whatever managed to survive.

frozen plantsNot only were plants that survived the freeze affected, the flowers and grass we planted in the spring were subjected to this new bout of adverse weather, as well.

As I lamented the state of our grass and plants, I wondered. How do we respond when we are under prolonged drought or oppressive heat in our lives?

As a result, I came up with the following three things.

  1. Often, despite our best efforts, there are destructive forces which we can’t control.
  2. The small amount of relief we receive may not be enough to turn things around.
  3. We may need to pull up and replant.

Can’t Control Destructive Forces

As was the case with our grass and plants, I could not control the extreme heat. Nor could I control the lack of meaningful shade they received.

I could not control the fact that when I had time to water for an extended period of time during this drought, it was too windy.

Or it was during the hottest period of the day.

Neither of which are efficient or beneficial while remaining environmentally responsible. So, I did the best I could with the existing constraints.

Likewise, there are situations in our life we cannot control that impact us negatively. We cannot control the scorching heat of another’s actions or decisions. We can’t control the withering impact of another’s criticism or lack of grace. Despite our best efforts, we cannot control the constraints placed on us by outside uncontrollable destructive forces.

That’s when we take our dying grass and place it before our Father. We ask for the healing mercy of his shade. We ask for his soul-refreshing rain.

Lest we forget, we remind our self he is in control of the heat and the rain. We remember that he loves us, and that his opinion is the only one that matters. He is the one who defines us, not our dying grass or another’s actions or opinion.

Brief Relief

By the time the afternoon sun headed west and shade fell, our grass and plants had endured a full day of blistering, unrelenting southern-exposed heat. When evening came, the future hours of relief weren’t enough to turn things around. Especially when the temperature remained in the upper 80s overnight.

After we endure unrelenting heat from painful situations, the brief moments of relief may seem like they are not enough to do much good. Our situation has yet to be fully resolved. It’s out there. Waiting for the sun to come back up the next morning, and scorch us all over again. We appreciate the lower temperature, but we’re still hovering near the danger zone.

That’s when we remind our self that God knows. God sees. God cares. We tell our self nothing reaches us God didn’t plan or permit. And when it reaches us, Jesus is right there beside us, walking with us through the furnace.

Time to Replant?

As we waited this past spring, we didn’t know the outcome for our grass and plants. We didn’t know if they would rally and pull through or not. Once again, as we did the previous spring before the drought and heat wave hit, we replanted both the grass and the plants.

Our plants and grass have endured a lot. Abnormal, prolonged freeze in winter. Followed by a brief respite of good weather where they flourished, before they were hit with unbearable, prolonged heat. The weather took a toll. Our plants and grass were barely able to hang on.

Your Turn

Life has different seasons, too. Some seasons bring on the prolonged freeze of broken relationships. We suffer through broken health. Broken finances. Even broken dreams.

It’s possible to have brief periods of renewal where we flourish. All is well with our world. Life is beautiful. Couldn’t be better.

But then, when we least expect it, from out of nowhere the searing oppressive heat, which we cannot control, takes up residence and refuses to budge. We do the best we can, but we can only control what we can control. As a result, we find we are barely hanging on.

At that point, we fall on our knees and surrender it all to God. All the good, the bad, and the ugly. All the frozen dreams and sun scorched goals. We ask God to help us control the things we can, and we give him the rest. Then, we trust him to do it.

Surrender might require the death of something in order to make room for something else. We might need to pull up and replant. It may be painful. However, in the process, we remind our self that for there is a time for everything. And a season for every purpose under heaven.

Most importantly, we remember we have a God who is in control of it all.

I wish you well.

Sandy

You can find my blog at https://www.sandykirbyquandt.com

Photos courtesy Pixabay.

Sandy Kirby Quandt

Sandy Kirby Quandt is a follower of Jesus with a passion for history and travel. Passions that often weave their way into her stories and articles. She writes articles, devotions, and stories for adult and children publications. She is a regular contributor to Guideposts devotional books, as well as a conference speaker. Sandy has won multiple awards for her writing, including several years in the Young Adult category of the Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition. However, her greatest honor came when she received the Right Stuff Award at Space Camp for Educators. Looking for words of encouragement or gluten-free recipes? Then check out her blog at www.sandykirbyquandt.com

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4 comments

  1. “Surrender might require the death of something in order to make room for something else. ” Powerful. Thank you.

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