Surrender...it's so not easy

Today is Sunday. It's a day to rest, reflect and be renewed so we can feel ready for the week ahead, right?  Generally, the answer is yes.  Today, not so much.  My husband is a pastor and Sunday's he has left the house by 5:45 a.m.  Most Sunday's my children continue to sleep after he's gone.  But today my children were awake and fussy at 6:15 a.m.- much, much too early for this momma.  I thought maybe if I laid there quietly for a few minutes they would get the hint and fall back to sleep. HA! What a riot. So we were up and on with the day. I got them dressed and fed and myself ready and we set off for our 8 a.m. church service, one which rarely gets attended because it's at 8 A.M.!  I wasn't in the mood to be up that early and my impatience had already reared it's ugly head. I needed a redo and I needed to change my attitude if I was going to expect my children to do the same.

Have you ever sat through a sermon or listened to a radio program and thought "this was written just for me"? Well, that was the sermon at my church this morning. At least part of what was said. I humbly asked for a redo and set my heart on a path to surrender to Jesus and follow where he wants to lead me. So often I forget to start my day by saying "yet not my will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42b).  I simply get up and trudge along as if I'm all on my own with no one to help me along the way.  That's how I feel most days and most days my feelings betray me.  The truth is, I'm not alone at all.  Jesus said in John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”  If I start my day instead by believing in the one who has given me life, then no matter where the day takes me, I'm never really alone.  What a relief to be reminded of this truth!  

The day is going better and hopefully will end on a much more positive note than how it began.  I'm so thankful for the gift of grace.