The Simple Life...Letting Go of Control

This has been a year of exploring what it means to live a simple life. Gone is the need to keep up with, or compete, with anyone. I'm working on the need to please people. I'm a life-long pleaser, and this one has been more difficult.

My search for simplicity has been a process of self-examination in learning how to let go of certain things, while clinging to others. Living in the country has helped me sort out the truly necessary from the trivial habits I've made for myself. I need quiet and margin in my life to achieve simplicity, and I can see the fruit of changing my way of living.

One of the most profound, yet simple actions, has been surrendering control over things I can't change. I'm not necessarily a worrier, but I do tend to project the end result of any number of issues..."if this happens, then this will probably follow," scenario. My brain creates all kinds of stories that will more than likely never happen; a recipe for stress.

I'm learning to accept life as it happens and leave the future, in the future. There are few things we ultimately have control over, and letting everything else go has brought peace.

There was a time I was so addicted to Major League Baseball, I'd get up in the middle of the night to check the scores. My heart would pound as I waited for the Atlanta Braves score to scroll across the bottom of my television. This was in the days before smart phones and instant everything. There wasn't a dad gum thing I could do about it but my anxiety level didn't comprehend that fact.

The weather, the economy, American politics, and especially certain people in my life will never be in my control. My responsibility is to love those I come into contact with, care for my family and home, and live every day in a way that pleases my heavenly Father. It's also my responsibility to use the gifts and talents I've been given to share my faith and point people to Jesus. Beyond that, I'm free to live simply; sit on the porch with a cup of tea, invite friends to share a meal, plant flowers and watch them grow, or serve the needs of others.

The possibilities are endless when you let go of the need to control. I recognize I will struggle with this because of wanting everyone to be happy. However, taking the first step in realizing this is not my job has brought freedom.

Each of us are responsible for how we choose to act or react to the people in our lives. And this, dear friends, is one of the secrets to my simple life.