Choosing Tranquility
" Can you even begin to think of the time, energy, and emotions you've wasted on the uncontrollable things in your life? I've certainly done my share of wishing, fretting, complaining, and trying to manipulate uncontrollable things and people. When I do that , I use up immense quantities of emotional energy for nothing when it could have been expended in a productive way.
Remember this: when the uncontrollable things or people in our lives are making us miserable, it is because we allow them to do that to us. They can't keep us on that roller coaster if we decide to get off. How do you get off? By choice,by a decision of your will, by much prayer, and by the power of God's Spirit within you. It takes determination on your part, but if you don't let God supply the power, you're not likely to be able to do it." Mary Whelchel -JOY FOR THE JOURNEY (I bold-faced certain words)
This is so true! Often I have found myself obsessing over a particular issue or 'problem person' in my life and realized I have lost sleep and energy, my thought life is consumed by the issue, to what gain? By giving this much time to the problem shows I have allowed IT to determine my days, my actions, my paths. Essentially, I have given power over my life to the very thing or person that has caused so much misery...now how sensible and sane is that? And here I cannot blame the offending party, I have made and acted on the CHOICE to hand myself over to it. And this also means I can choose to put the problem in proper perspective by handing it over to God for Him to do this , through prayer and contemplation of His ways , and then... act on it!
"Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. " Philippians 4:8
