Believe that God is in Control

I saw this on KristaRose’s facebook cover photo and it really made me think about all that is going on in my life right now. If I think about it, the past few years have been a pretty crazy and chaotic time. However, it’s always a good reminder especially with the Easter season to get a reminder that God is in control for us. He doesn’t give us things that we can’t handle and everything can be a lesson in the waiting. We might not understand the chaos in our lives but there is a reason for each and every thing that happens. In this entry I’m taking some time to digest just what has happened lately.

A few years back, my dad passed away. It was one of the hardest times of my life. Things get turned upside down when a major event like that happens. You are left with a big void and thinking to yourself, where do I go from here? I know that I’ve mentioned it quite a few times on my blog and it has gotten better with time. However, it’s not something that I can just forget about easily. I still wish my dad was here but I know that he’s watching over us all.

After that happened, I had to finish up the rest of my senior year at Notre Dame. It was a difficult time and I didn’t feel like myself at all. Graduating from Notre Dame was an achievement for me and I’m very proud to be an alumnus. But starting the independent life completely away from my mom did put even more pressure on me to succeed in life. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing as it helped me to be a better person. However, it added a lot of chaos as I moved to Chicago, started a new leadership program and then began to commute back and forth between South Bend to visit Krista on weekends.

A year after that I got the news that I was adopted. This was pretty shocking news since after 22-23 years of my life I did not know about this at all. It was interesting to take at first because the news doesn’t really change anything fundamentally. My mom will always be my mom. However, the thought that there are brothers and sisters and my real parents that I haven’t met… that’s something that is just mind blowing to me still. I do wish to have the chance to get to see them and meet them. However, this year isn’t going to be the year and it’s a bit disappointing. But there’s got to be some reason it isn’t going to happen this year.

Then there’s always the busy-ness of work. It’s good work and fulfilling but it just does take a lot of effort and time to keep up with everything and make sure I do the best job possible. There seems to be so many things that pop up during work and though sometimes I just ask myself why is this happening, but in the end it makes me a stronger worker to be able to deal with unexpected things. Work has also taken me to many places. I would’ve never imagined flying to India multiple times for job related things. I’ve also had to go to different places around the US and even went to the UK and visited the Oxford office. I never know what will come in day to day and it just seems like things can be out of my control as I try to manage a team halfway across the world.

Building on that idea, I tend to always think about why certain things happen. Is there a certain lesson I am supposed to get? Were there others that I affected because of my experiences? Am I building myself into a better person? What can I gain from experiences? I always come back to the concept that honestly, I’m not in control of anything. Well maybe to an extent I am but the events that happen during the day and how we get influenced come directly from God. He has a plan for everyone and how everything in our lives will be revealed.

I think it’s a hard thing to grasp sometimes because we think that we know best in our lives. However, we have to be reminded that there’s a greater purpose for us here on Earth and sometimes we don’t discover this purpose until later in life. So as you struggle to handle some day to day challenges and battles, it might be preparation for later in life where you can maybe help others out with a similar situation. We never really truly know until we reach a point where we can understand. Then that’s when you get it. You understand why everything happened leading up to that moment. Sometimes from there you ask yourself how you could’ve been so blind in noticing the steps that led you there.

In situations like this, I take great comfort in thinking that it’s really God that is in control of what we are supposed to experience. He has already figured out our path and our purpose in life and it’s up to us to get there and to live it out. So many things in the world we can stress out about but like so many things, we can’t directly affect them. Why not believe that God is in control? To me it makes perfect sense and it allows me to learn about how to let go of some of the daily stress in life. Let God handle some of the navigation in your life and help direct your energies where they need to be.

So the next time you get bogged down in craziness of life, take a step back and think about the concept of believing that God is in control. I guarantee you will feel better. Just keep in mind that things happen for a reason. You might not see it now but you will definitely understand at some point in your life and you will realize that God had complete control of that