I have a friend who, from pretty much the first time I met her, has seemed to me to be “surrendered.” That phrase would pop into my mind when I would talk to her. She recently told me that there was a situation in her life that was very difficult, but she finally realized there was nothing she could do about it. And then there was peace. And that is exactly what I mean by surrendered: to have let go, to have surrendered the outcome or situation up to God. There is a very well known prayer. It goes like this:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.
So often we get so upset by things that we can’t change. And it takes so much energy; it messes with our peace. We may gripe and grumble and curse and cuss but it doesn’t do anything. It just makes us miserable.
I recently gave a presentation that I wasn’t proud of. I knew it would have been much better if I had taken more time to simplify it and hadn’t tried to live up to what I thought were the expectations of another — if I had just gone with what I felt God was calling me to do. I was talking with a friend about it and I think I said three times, “I am really not proud of how that went.” But I 
realized: it is done. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it. I can make adjustments next time; I can e-mail the group with notes; but other than that, there was nothing I can do. I had to let it go. Fretting doesn’t do anyone any good. And believe me, giving up fretting isn’t easy!
Sometimes when these things happen too, I pray. I say, “God, even though I didn’t do what I thought I should, please let something amazing come from it.” Let people’s hearts be touched anyway. Romans 8:28 says “All things work for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose,” so I put it in the hands of God. Who knows? Perhaps someone LOVED the fact that there was so much information, and benefited from the notes. I may never know. Letting go and trusting God is hard . . . but necessary. I am thankful I have people I can call to help me through the process.
May God bless your day.
Retro Blog. From September 26th, 2009
Face The Day OK 