Whew, it’s over. Oh, every year it’s the same. From the end of February to the beginning of April I go on a ridiculously complicated schedule of a random mix of evening and day shifts. Sometimes I get off work at 11 pm just to need to be back to work the next day at 7am. Sometimes my weekends are Saturday and Sunday, but sometimes they are Tuesday and Friday. There is no pattern to which days are which. I find myself needing to check the schedule each day just to see what I’ll be working tomorrow. I am not in control and things seem totally out of my hands. But if I just follow the schedule one day at a time, I’ll be where I need to be and I‘ll fulfill my duties.

There are lots of things in life that are not under our control, no matter how much we think they are or would like them to be. A parent dying, a rebellious child , or someone close getting very sick, a spouse leaving, abusive attention, or receiving no attention at all, can send our worlds out of our control. Whether our response is retreating into our shell and doing nothing, running as far away as we can get, or becoming furious and venting our anger, we want to be able to fix and solve the problem. But we can’t. It is not within our grasp.

So what can we do? The fact is that these events in our lives were never meant to be something we can fix. I know, you are probably thinking I’m going to say that they are events put in our lives to teach us a lesson from God. But can it be that things as serious as loved ones sick and dying and abusive relationships be merely lessons? The fact is that as serious as they are, they are happening to us and there is not one thing we can do about it. Whether they become lessons or not depends on how we take them.

We can choose to ignore the lesson and have these events eat away at our hearts and minds until we spiral down the whirlpool of sadness and depression. But scripture says don’t.

It is God’s promise that he will never leave or forsake us (Heb 13:5) The word for “leave” means to reject, send back or turn away; and the word for “forsake” means to leave us without any help or defense. God promises us that He will always accept us when we seek Him, and once we start trusting Him, He will make sure we have what we need to get through these tough situations.

When things are outta hand, they are in God’s hands. Don’t worry about it. Trust in Him, and seek from Him your schedule for today, and you will be where you need to be…in the perfect will of God.