The Power of Surrendering Control

Looking back, I can see that so much of my stress came from trying to control things that were never in my control to begin with. I wanted certainty. I wanted guarantees. I wanted to know how things would work out before I took the next step. But life doesn't work that way, and neither does faith. Faith requires trust, and trust requires surrender. That's a lesson God has been teaching me over and over again.

 

As moms, I think we naturally want to protect our children from everything. We want to make sure they're happy, healthy, safe, and successful. We think about their future, their friendships, their education, and the choices they'll make one day. Before we know it, we're worrying about things that haven't even happened yet. I've had moments where I found myself lying awake at night thinking about situations years down the road. I was spending so much time worrying about tomorrow that I wasn't fully enjoying today. Meanwhile, my kids were right in front of me wanting to play, laugh, and make memories. God gently reminded me that my job is to love them, guide them, and pray for them. Their future ultimately belongs in His hands, not mine.

 

The same has been true in business. As someone who has built a company from the ground up, I understand the pressure that comes with leadership. There are decisions to make, goals to reach, people depending on you, and moments where the future feels uncertain. I used to think every outcome depended solely on me. If sales were down, if a launch didn't go exactly as planned, or if a door wasn't opening as quickly as I hoped, I would immediately start trying to figure out how to fix everything myself. What I didn't realize was that I was carrying a weight God never asked me to carry. While He absolutely calls us to work hard and be faithful stewards, He never asks us to become the source. He is the source. My responsibility is obedience; the results belong to Him.

 

One thing I've learned about surrender is that it doesn't come naturally. We want control because control feels safe. We think if we can manage every detail, then we can avoid disappointment or pain. But the reality is that control is often just fear wearing a different outfit. It's our attempt to predict the future and protect ourselves from uncertainty. The problem is that the more tightly we hold onto control, the more anxious we become. We weren't created to carry that burden.

 

I remember going through seasons where I felt like I had so much on my plate that I didn't even know where to start. Between family responsibilities, work commitments, personal goals, and everyday life, I constantly felt like I was falling behind somewhere. No matter how much I accomplished, there was always something else demanding my attention. One morning during my quiet time, I felt God impress something so simple on my heart: "You are carrying things I never asked you to carry." That sentence stopped me in my tracks. I realized I had been asking God to bless my efforts while simultaneously refusing to hand Him my burdens.

 

The beautiful thing about Jesus is that He never asks us to clean up our mess before bringing it to Him. He simply asks us to come. He knows every fear, every worry, every insecurity, and every unanswered question. He knows the situations we're trying to figure out and the battles we're silently fighting. Yet His invitation remains the same: trust Me. Not because He needs our trust, but because we need His peace.

 

Surrender has looked different in different seasons of my life. Sometimes it's been surrendering a dream and trusting God's timing. Sometimes it's been surrendering my expectations of how I thought something should happen. Other times it's simply been surrendering the need to have all the answers. I've learned that peace doesn't come from knowing exactly what the future holds. Peace comes from knowing Who holds the future.

 

What encourages me most is looking back and seeing God's faithfulness in moments when I couldn't see it at the time. There have been doors I desperately wanted opened that never opened, only for God to lead me somewhere better. There have been delays that frustrated me in the moment but protected me from things I couldn't see. There have been challenges that felt overwhelming but ultimately strengthened my faith. When I look at my life, I can clearly see that God has never failed me. Not once.

 

That doesn't mean life has always been easy. It doesn't mean every prayer was answered exactly how I wanted. It simply means that God has been faithful through it all. And if He's been faithful before, I can trust Him with whatever comes next.

 

Today, I think many of us are carrying unnecessary weight. We're carrying tomorrow's worries, other people's expectations, pressures we were never meant to shoulder, and responsibilities that belong to God. We tell ourselves we're being responsible, but often we're just exhausted. The freedom comes when we realize we don't have to be everything for everyone. We don't have to have every answer. We don't have to control every outcome.

 

The older I get, the more I realize that surrender isn't losing control—it's placing control in the hands of Someone far more capable than I am. It's acknowledging that God loves my family more than I do, cares about my future more than I do, and sees things I simply cannot see. It's choosing to trust His plans even when I don't fully understand them.