On Yielding...
When control feels "safer"
I can be a bit bossy. Or so I've been told… growing up, I remember being told that I was bossy. For context, I’m the first born daughter, first granddaughter, first niece…you get the picture. So I think I had this inclination to always make sure everything was “okay” from a young age. It was an inclination to make sure everything and everyone operated well. While that doesn’t seem too bad, you can imagine what that may look like in an under developed mind… bossy. I think there’s something beautiful about wanting to take the lead. I believe that when children are considered “bossy” it’s likely because the child carries a leadership quality about them and this needs to be molded, and molded well.
See, as one gets older, you’re kind of forced to figure that part out regardless (unless you simply don’t care about people), but when you’re living a life where you aim to represent Christ, and love like Christ…it’s best you don’t walk around trying to be the boss of everyone. Instead you learn to be a leader from Jesus’ example…you learn to yield. Jesus being Jesus still yielded to the voice of His Father. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. Jesus sat and listened. Jesus taught, and while He was direct, He taught with love. Jesus came to serve. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45
It’s important to understand this level of humility to understand this very topic of faith, and lack thereof, when we want to be in control.
This season of my life I’m taking risk after risk. This season of my life I’m pursuing this dream, a dream of running my own business, and a dream of content creation - digital marketing, creative direction and everything of the sorts. One thing I am certain of is that God gave me this dream. It all made sense and continues to make sense as I move. However, in this season, I've been discovering that while this was certainly a dream God gave me, that was never to say that I could even remotely begin to move forward without first surrendering this “dream” back to God.
I used to confuse faith with control…and I’ll be transparent and let you know that this is still a battle here and there. I tend to get lost in the fine line between the two. I’d wrestle with this idea that I needed to have everything absolutely planned because God ordains structure and the idea that I need to let God do. What I had to learn was that these two thoughts can indeed, and NEED to co-exist.
We need to:
Pray for the plan
Create the game plan – think “Okay, God..this is what I’m thinking”
Bring it right back to God and wait for the peace in your heart
Once you have peace about it – “okay Lord, let’s do this, but I need you to go before me”
Get to work
The overall thing here is to invite Him into every step of your process. It won’t always feel clear, but you can rest assured that God so kindly will do what He needs to do. Whether that is success in your plan, or a closed door, remember that He will take control.
I wanted to share these thoughts, because I believe any entrepreneurship journey can be tricky, and as Chrsitian’s it can become all the more tricky because we’re usually conditioned to only consider “God’s plan” but not want to or know how to put in our own leg work. I share this because this is something I personally struggle with to this day. So stepping into this new year, the first official year of my full time entrepreneurial pursuits, I wanted to move differently.
I start my work, no matter what time, by inviting the Lord into my space.
I ask Him to give me the ideas, the concepts, the words, all of it.
And no, this isn’t always well done…sometimes I jump right into work…but you’ll notice the need to pause and surrender when the anxiety and frustration starts to kick in (it’s like a beautiful wake up call, right?).
Yielding feels risky…but yielding to the Father, the very one who has placed your dreams and desires in your heart, is the best way to know that your “plans” will either come to pass or be purposefully redirected.
This journey can be scary, but isn’t it beautiful? Beautiful to know that you don’t have to do it alone, NOR were you expected to??
Navigating that in between, the confusing part, the transitions, feeling stuck…that’s the part that we’d say builds “grit” and yes, it does…but more importantly, this exercises your faith.
Give your God-sized dream back to God.
(and don’t forget to put in the work!)
