so this chapter is pretty intense. it seems so complex, but yet so simple at the same time. i have a tendency to try to do basically everything by myself and with my own power... which obviously isnt much. and all the while i'm convincing myself that i can do it without the help of the creator of the universe and failing miserably, it amazes me to see how creation completely gives up all control and is perfectly taken care of. stress and control seem to have become natural parts of life in our world. it's seems such a radical idea that someone could live without them, but that's exactly what God wants from us. one thing in particular that stuck out to me from this chapter was the comment: "you will always be submitting to someone or something." having this perspective makes the decision to surrender to God more serious and real. the reality that if i'm not giving control to Him, i'm giving it to someone or something else makes it pretty much impossible to ignore. it isn't just one of those things you can hear in church and quickly dismiss... it's an inescapable reality. in regards to the end of the chapter... where she asks what an example of the battle for control is in our lives... well i bet i could choose from about a million of my own... but i thought of one that was fairly recent. our trip to John Brown for early registration was a really great trip. my parents and i went into it with open hearts and prayed that it would be an encouraging and smooth-going experience. the beginning of the weekend went very well and i was very excited about everything... however, as everything began to become extremely overwhelming and exhausting i began to cave in. i stressed, freaked, and panicked to the point that i just wanted to get in the car and go home. but then God just seemed to say, " this is pointless, you know that right? i could totally handle alllll of this for you if you would just let it go." you know, its so easy to say "well of course i would just give it all to God" when you're not in the situation. but when you're in the middle of one of those control relenting moments, its alot harder than it seems otherwise. trusting God with the rest of the weekend was hard to do. but i realized that i just had to give up everything. every little step i took. i prayed for God to provide even the smallest things like meeting someone to walk from place to place with. and you know what? he did. every time. and it was just as sweet as He promises. once i realized that i couldnt go anywhere or do anything without talking to Him first and letting Him be in control, the weekend was infinitely sweeter and much more relaxed. not to say that He said yes to my every request, but when i gave it up to Him he worked out the situation in the best way it needed to be. it's so fun to understand considering it pure joy to be faced with trials and situations that demand total dependence. it's so ironic that some of the very things our natures tell us to avoid are the things that He uses to keep our eyes on Him.