Day 8 - Attachment to Control of Our Lives

Begin with prayer -

"God, I believe that You are searching for me and I open my heart to You today. Please clear away the things that are blocking the door to my heart."

Meditation -

If a man who claims to see the future is a fool,

how much more so, the man believes he can control it?

We think we steer the ship of fate,

but all of us are guided by unseen stars.

-Enoclitus

We all strive to exercise control over our lives. Whether this is in our relationships, work, or spiritual journey, it is very easy to fall into the trap of thinking we control our lives and seek to exercise that control. We pray, thinking we are the ones who have to move our hearts to repentance and obtain graces. We work for success, believing that our talents and effort are our own. We form relationships and pursue where we want those relationships to go. We identify the priorities in our lives, and decide where and how to spend our time and energy. 

The attachment to the control of our own lives is, at it's root, an attachment to power. In reality, it is God who does the work, who accomplishes all things, and sustains our every moment. Rather than the result of our own efforts, prayer is God taking the first step, always seeking us, moving us toward relationship with Him, offering us Himself and asking us to turn to Him. Everything we have is a gift from him, from our relationships with the people around us, to our abilities and successes.

It is not a bad thing to plan, to be prudent, and to work hard. Control is an illusion, however, and one that puts an impossible burden on our human frailty. We must examine our motivations and our mindset surrounding our lives and our plans, and surrender our illusion of control into God's hands. Instead of believing that we need control over our own lives, let us ask God to show us how He is guiding us and trust in His guiding, unseen light. Pray this prayer of surrender to Jesus, "O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!"

 

Gratitude -

Now or in the evening, pause and reflect on one specific thing you are grateful for today, and give thanks to God for this and all the gifts in your life.