The Struggle between Control and Trust

Hi all, it has been a while since we have heard from our AHG Girl Blogger, Sarah Peterson, she has had one busy summer.  As I say so often, Sarah is a girl after my own heart but more importantly God's heart. AHG  Leaders consider sharing Sarah's words of wisdom with your Troop's girls during your kick off meetings this fall- they are Spirit filled.  Thank you Sarah for feeding us with such wonderful and timeless food for thought.   - Until Next Time, Patti

Dear People,

Well most of you know my life verses: Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." But do you know why I choose these verses? What makes these stick out to me? Let me tell you my story :)

Last summer I went on a missions trip. (yes I blogged about that so you can read it if you want ;) ) It was a once in a life time trip, but before I went I was scared to death. I'm the kind of person that likes to know what is going to happen. I like control! Yes I really am a control freak: If I don't know what to expect I freak out. I didn't know what to expect for kids, I didn't know how they would react to new people, I didn't even know what the church looked like! I wouldn't know what to expect until I got there, so yah I was tweaking!...I struggled with this for a while and God brought me to these verses and it hit me:

 I don't know everything and that's ok.

There I said it! As much as I really hate to admit it, I don't know everything and I won't always be in control. Yah, for a person who likes to know what is going to happen this was a really hard concept to grasp. But I have a hope that not everyone has.

God knows.

See, it's ok that I don't know everything and it's ok that I'm not 100% in control because I have faith in a perfect God that is in control. So I just have to trust Him. Yah...easier said than done.

It's hard.

God never said trusting Him would be easy. It's not. It's one of the hardest lessons that I learned (and am still learning day to day!). Trusting means leaning fully on Him and not putting our own strength or power above God's but truly believing in Him and that He will get you through. Uh huh, like I
said: It's hard. I have had times where I have trusted in Him fully and He has blessed me. Then there have been those other times that I tried to do it on my own, failed miserably and came back to God heartbroken. He is merciful (thank goodness!!) and He took me in His arms and told me "It's ok, you failed but I still love you. Learn from what you did wrong and next time just trust!"

So that's where the verses come in.

I need constant reminders! I forget things easily (just ask my family about feeding the dog...) So I need help remembering. Well I haven't mastered the whole dog thing yet, but God has given me these two verses to help me master the issue of trust. These verses help me remember who to trust: "Trust in the Lord" They help me remember not to rely on self: "and lean not on your own understandings" They help me remember to stay focused on God in every aspect: "In all your ways acknowledge Him" and they help me remember that God is fully in control, knows our future and has wonderful things planned for us: "and He will make your paths straight."

I'm ever learning.

It's not a once and done. Like I said, I need constant reminders. So I have those two verses always in my mind to help me remember this area where I need work. God is faithful. He will help me with this area just like He'll help you in areas where you need work. Does that mean you have to have a life verse? No! But it does mean that you have to go to God for everything. If having a life verse helps: great! It has for me. The main point I want to make is this:
Turn always to God and He will guide your steps.

Signed,

One who is not in control, and is ok with it :)