Surrendering to the Storm

Here in the Northeast we are hunkered down today as blizzard Juno sweeps through the region. Most businesses are closed and life as we typically know it has ground to a halt. All because of Mother Nature. In the 70's there was a very popular margarine commercial in which Mother Nature menacingly proclaims at the end, "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature." Although we may not try to fool Mother Nature, we bristle against the idea that she, or the universe, or a higher power has ultimate control over our carefully calculated, down-to-the minute plans. Flights are canceled. Electrical power is lost. Heat is extinguished. Our meticulously crafted plans get tossed and scattered like pieces of debris in the whirling blizzard winds.

A blizzard is a bold reminder to us that we are not in control and that we need to learn to surrender. Not just during the height of a snowstorm, but every day. This is a difficult lesson to live by because our egos want to be in control, but trying to control every aspect of our lives causes us a lot of unnecessary stress. Although surrendering is difficult to do, when we learn to cultivate a habit of surrender, we soon realize that life gets easier and that our stress begins to melt away like snowflakes hitting a warm car windshield.


When my daughters were teenagers, I often worried about their safety, as most parents do. When our children are little we have utter and complete control over every aspect of their lives, and one of the most difficult things about parenting is learning how to slowly relinquish that control as our children emerge into young adulthood. During that stage of parenthood, I remember a friend saying that she relinquished her daughter's well-being into the hands of Jesus and then didn't worry about it anymore. "Really?" I thought. How could I ever do that? How could I possibly hand over my children's safety, even to a higher being? Foolishly, I thought my worrying would keep me in control of every situation they might encounter. If I didn't worry about them, who would? Slowly I came to realize that worrying about them was a waste of energy and that surrendering was the path to serenity.

What can you surrender to today, tomorrow, this week? What are the things you are trying to control in your life? Start to surrender to the things that are out of your control and begin to experience the peace that it brings.