Part One in a 4-part Series
Just like that, in the past two months, life, as we know it, has disappeared.
The Corona Virus Pandemic is global and non-discriminatory. Schools, many businesses, and even churches are shut down – and most travel is non-existent. We have been quarantined and isolated, leaving us feeling unsettled, uncertain, and afraid – not to mention, angry and sad.
It is in times of crisis, we can succumb to the fear and chaos, lose hope, and spiral downward, or we can decide to pause in the midst of the storm and learn some valuable life-changing lessons. It is in the hardest, scariest seasons, that we learn and grow the most if we will choose to still ourselves, be fully present, and open to the wisdom that is available to us.
I’ve felt the gamut of all the emotions throughout this time. Yet, instead of resisting the reality of what is, and allowing it to overwhelm me, I’ve chosen to lean in, and view it as a season of rest, recovery, and re-evaluation.
I want to share with you some of the truths I’ve gleaned as a result so, you too can experience the peace and promise that is available to you not only in this season but when the normalcy of life returns.
The hustle and stress of life will return in full force, and when it does, I hope that you have allowed this season to transform you and your life for the better.
The first of The 4 Life-Changing Lessons I’ve Learned From The COVID-19 Crisis is this:
Relinquising Control
Surrendering Creates An Awakening
For years, I prided myself on being independent, self-sufficient, and capable of achieving at high levels. I believed the lie that I can’t trust anyone to come through for me, so it’s better that I do everything myself. I craved control, and I fought hard for it so that I could finally create the life I wanted so badly.
Though my hard work paid off in some ways, trying to do everything myself didn’t work out so well. The more I fought to be in control of my life, the less in control I felt. Before this season began, I was already learning the valuable principle of letting go. Yet, this crisis has exacerbated the need to embrace and implement surrender at a new level.
We all crave control over our lives and we convince ourselves that we have it. We believe that it’s our intelligence, hard work, good deeds, determination, resourcefulness, or even our ability to manipulate situations and people, that will create and maintain our success and security. But when life as we know it comes to a standstill, our eyes are opened to just how little control we do have over anything.
In times of hardship, we also recognize that the control we crave is actually bondage because whatever we want to feel control over is what we are enslaved to. Yet, if we are open to learning and growing, we also realize that what we are so afraid of losing is the very thing that once we relinquish, we are freer than we could have ever imagined. These past few weeks have been a scary but beautiful reminder of that truth.
The good news in all of this is that crises like these force us to relinquish the illusion of control and create an inner awakening in us so we are free to live surrendered to God, in His control, and in His perfect provision for us as His beloved children. Abiding in Him offers us full access to everything in abundance according to His unique purpose for each of us. We are no longer limited in our human ability or understanding, but we are open to the more that is available to us – more than we can even begin to think, dream, or imagine.
Accessing that life is counterintuitive and countercultural. It doesn’t make logical sense to us. But it is available to us, and the only requirement to living that new life of freedom and fullness is surrendering our illusion of control, releasing our grasp, and spending time in His presence so we can enter into the rest, peace, and fulfillment that is awaiting us. But we must be willing to let go.
I encourage you to lean into this season. Be open to learning and growing. Allow this time to shift your thinking, expand your awareness, and transform your being. There’s always beauty in the pain, lessons in the struggle, and much to be grateful for in all of it.
Times of crisis change us. Let this time transform you from the inside out so that your life is never the same. Let it be better than you can imagine!
