Living with Open Hands

You've watched her, probably sympathized for her, and maybe even cringed with her.  

The woman with the kid throwing the worlds biggest temper tantrum when they don't get their way.

I try to keep that visual readily in my mind because I assume that must be how God sees me sometimes.  

I am often convinced that I know best.  That I have it under control.  Issues that God says I should keep my hands off of, I have a tendency to gravitate towards.  My plans are good and rock solid, and if A & B don't work C is a solid yes so in other words-I've got this one.  So if I surrender half, I hold on tightly to the other half.  You know, "my stuff"

It's been a tough lesson with many tears and more than few attempts to beat my head against the wall in frustration, but God is revealing to me more and more the call to 

live with open hands.

Quit holding on so tightly to the things I deem my own responsibility.  Surrender all.  Everything.

Christians often have a bad rap of living a lifestyle not much bigger than a laundry list of what not to do.  It was a reality I woke to in the 6th grade when the jock behind me in math class struck up a random friendship with me and was interested in my beliefs.  I will never forget one day when I sat down he instantly blurted out-so if you're a Christian that means you only listen to Carmen and don't do…(insert list here).

Truth was I stared at him with a blank stare lost as goose.  My beliefs had never resembled that.  I hadn't even ever heard of Carmen before.

The reality is I've been a Christian for years but never seen it as a "laundry list of not-to-do's".  It has been a life of complete surrender, total abandonment.  People said that authentic surrender would be no fun, but I learned a long time ago that was just a lie from the enemy trying to trick me into choosing my own mess instead of His divine perfect plan for me.  While there are times I say no because of my beliefs, it is only because of saying yes to something better.  The truth behind the "laundry list" misconception is that it's saying no the fake to saying yes to the best.

After all, I've never surrendered something and later said-I wish I would've controlled that one myself.  So here's to a new week, living with hands more open than the last.

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