How self-reliant are you?
One of the parental “gut-wrenching moments” is when you take your child to kindergarten—leaving them in the “big world” to fend for themselves, without their guardian there to save the day.
I think I’ve referenced this before, but when I took Layne to kindergarten for the first time in a new city and new home, I expected her to have great anxiety.
Since she started later that week, she’d accompanied me, taking her brother, so she was used to the car rider deal. I fully expected to drop Andrew off, park the car, and walk her into the classroom. As she began unbuckling her seat belt, I questioned what she was doing.
“I’m going to do it myself.”
And before I could contest, there she went. Her determination and independence have served her well in life. She would tell you she gets it honest.
With that in mind, I can also say that independence and determination can get us into trouble. Sometimes, we think we can do things all by ourselves, and we forget to be reliant on God.
One of the beatitudes is, “Blessed are the poor in spirit . . .”
The Hebrew understanding of the word “poor” describes people who, having nothing at all, in their complete helplessness and humility, put their whole trust in God.
Do you ever truly feel helpless?
Or do we feel helpless in the moment but know in the back of our minds that we will figure it out?
In this beatitudes, Jesus refers to one with no “backup plan.”
They truly do feel helpless. Thus, they have put their whole trust in God.
Maybe that’s where we go wrong.
Because we are resourceful, we can figure it out.
What if we forgo having that control and we surrender ourselves to God?
