I pulled into my drive-way. There they were – 4 scrawny, baby squirrels. I was only home for an hour lunch break so I wasn’t sure what to do with them. I hoped their mother could come back and return them safely to their nest. So I left them and returned to work.
When Daniel got home on his lunch break the hawks were starting to circle. So, with my approval, he boxed them up and put them in our garage. By the time I got home I had big plans for these little fellas. I went to our vet and got some formula and got to feeding my new brood. The temperature was expected to get low that night so I tried to add plenty of insulation to their box. When morning came I eagerly went to check on them. The first one I picked up was dead.
My wheels were turning. I had to figure out a way to keep them warm. So the next night I tried a hot water bottle. Unfortunately it leaked and froze another one to death. Now I’m down to two squirrels. I couldn’t bear to lose another one. So the third night I reluctantly brought them into my house. I snuggled them up in their little box for a good night rest.
Morning came with the buzz of my alarm. My dog, who was used to his morning walk, pawed to get me up. I snoozed the alarm, but my dog wouldn’t let me sleep. As I began stretching to finally get out of my bed my eyes struggled to focus on an unknown object in my bed. Then my eyes made sense of it. I realized why my dog was so agitated. He brought a squirrel into my bed and I slept on it. I didn’t just sleep on in. I killed it. I didn’t just kill it. I flattened it. What was once a cute little friend now repulsed me.
When I finally processed the scene I screamed. Daniel jumped out of bed. It took him several seconds to figure out why I was screaming and flailing. He disposed of the critter. I bleached the sheets immediately. Followed by a scalding shower to rid myself of death.
So what’s the moral of the story? As women we tend to try and control a lot of circumstances that are not ours to control. I tried to help these little squirrels with good intentions, but it would have been best to let nature take its course. It’s not just with dead squirrels.
Ladies, we try to control the behavior of others from our families to friends to coworkers. We try to control what other people think about us. Does panic set in if you think someone could be upset with you? We try to control our weight by eating or starving ourselves. Our “control” fruits bear themselves out in our inability to accept correction from others, over spending, over eating and over talking.
Stasi Eldredge said, “When a woman falls from grace, what is most deeply marred is her tender vulnerability, beauty that invites to life. She becomes a dominating, controlling woman—or a desolate, needy, mousy woman. (Captivating p. 51).
It has been the classic woman struggle since the time of Eve. Why did Even eat the forbidden fruit? To take matters into her own hands and get what she thought was a better life. It didn’t work. Her choice ushered sin into a world of innocence. All because she thought she could do it better.
What do our control issues say to God? We are telling Him He’s not enough. He doesn’t know best. He doesn’t have our best interest at heart. He’s really not in control.
So the challenge of the day girls is to do some self-evaluation in your areas of control. If you are really brave ask someone else to help you identify those areas. Let’s take our hands off the control button and surrender our lives, circumstances, and relationships to the Sovereign God who really is in control.