Dear Lord; Good morning Father, and happy Wednesday. Well, first off I want to thank You for limiting the snowfall in our neck of the woods. What potentially could have been a huge mess ended up being limited to a 3 – 4” coating that simply covered everything with a pretty white blanket. The kids still got a day off of school but everything else seems to be moving along as normal, for which I’m very much appreciative.
Today Father, I’d like to discuss one of my biggest challenges if I may. I Lord, am a “fixer”; my nature is to try to fix things no matter what. While in many cases that can be a positive character trait, in some situations it ends up causing more trouble than helping. This morning was a case in point for the latter.
Shannon had a very rough night and didn’t sleep well due to some pain in her legs, and woke a little on the edgy side. I tried talking with her about it and after several pointed questions to see what I could do to help, it became apparent that all I was doing was aggravating her further. I completely misread the situation and in my efforts to “solve a problem” I missed the point and handled it poorly. Thinking about it on my ride to work this morning, I realized that this part of my nature needs to be more carefully tempered going forward. For that to happen, when my urge to “jump in” strikes I need to remember a couple truths :
I’m not in control. I can’t fix everything.
While I actually do know this Father, my brain sometimes ignores these seemingly simple facts when I see something I feel that I can help with. I need to know when to simply sit and listen, and when to realize that things are outside my scope and to leave them in Your Loving Care.
Heavenly Father, please steer and temper my yearning spirit. Help me make good choices as to how I can best serve Your Will, and to be the best Child of God that I can. Where I can be of help, may Your Presence be my Guide to a positive end. However when my involvement is not warranted, please help me recognize my limitations and lift those situations to Your Care. In You, all things are possible Lord. Amen.
~Phather Phil
Hi, I’m Phil Malmstrom, a.k.a. Phather Phil. I’m self-employed, father of two wonderful young men, an ordained minister who delights in spreading Jesus’ Message of Hope and Love, a science-fiction junkie, an aspiring photographer and above all that one of God’s Children who rejoices in His Blessings each day. 
Hope Shannon feels better! At least you recognized that you were ‘aggrivating her further’ and didn’t keep on 🙂
Thank you Allison… She’s going to be able to come home a little early and get a nap this afternoon, so that should help a little bit. Oh, and believe me if I’d have pushed too far she’d have let me know it. LOL!
Have a Blessed Day!
As I wrote yesterday, I like to be in control. If someone isn’t happy, I want to fix it too. But sometimes we just need to listen and let God do the fixing.
Hope Shannon feels better soon!
You know Lisa, I realized after I wrote it that it was very similar to the subject you wrote about yesterday. Thank Heaven that us “control freaks” have Him to keep us in line! 🙂
Have a Blessed Day!
Oh, I just think it’s the way God made the man to try and fix it all. My husband is the same. And you’re right it’s not a bad thing it’s just a matter of learning to gauge the situation better before diving in with your tool belt! The good news is, I suspect Shannon knows this about you and therefore knows that your intentions are golden. Praying for her to get the rest she needs tonight.
I expect you’re right Heidi. And as for Shannon knowing me and my intentions, there’s no gray area there. She knows me better than any other person does, and deals with my “intentions” quite well. 🙂
Have a Blessed Day!
Great post! We all want to be in control, at least to a point. But as you said, we are not in control. We can not fix it all. But God can. God is the one in control. I want to give over to Him and let Him be God. Thanks for this reminder.
Amen Jenifer. I very much want to let go of my controlling nature and give myself completely over to His Care, but it’s certainly one of my daily struggles. Thankfully, He knows my nature and my heart and I know that He’s there to help me along the journey.
Have a Blessed Day!