I'm willing to send you 5 bucks if you look at this post title and NOT sing that Janet Jackson song. C'mon... You know you can't help yourself. Sing it with me.

"I'm in...control, never gonna stop. Control, to get what I want. Control, I got to have a lot. Control, now Im all grown up"

Depending on what decade you grew up in, you may find yourself asking, "What is she talking about now". But if you're a child of the 80's like me, you are well aware of Ms. Jackson's tribute to leaving behind her naivete for the greener pastures of maturity. This picture of me I paint for you is not a pretty one...big hair complete with "wall-o-bangs", oversized Au Coton sweatshirt, braces and I'm sure more than a few pimples. An impressionable young high schooler ready to take on the world with my anthems of adulthood.

Lately the topic of control has occupied my thoughts. Category 4 tornado's will do that, I guess. Specifically, I am thinking about how much I can control when a tornado strikes. I've been reading on tornado preparedness...studying about how tornado's form...looking at pictures of tornado aftermath...reading about the most destructive tornado's in the history of the world. I know, I know - that sounds a little obsessive. I promise you I'm not going to turn into one of those freak tornado chasers like Helen Hunt from the movie Twister. I just think it's good to know what I'm up against.


Why do we seek to control things? What is the root of that? I think part of it can be attributed to fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of...fill in your blank.

When it comes down to it - I can be prepared...but I can't control the tornado. Worrying and fretting about tornado's doesn't change anything at all. What worrying and fretting does is causes my mind to be distracted by things that are out of my....sing it with me, now....CONTROL. Jesus Christ had a few things to say on this matter. For example, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (Matt 6:27). Or if you prefer, "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matt 6:34)

Do you have something that you are worried about in your life?

What exactly is the remedy for worry? I suppose each of us has our own way that we go, but as for me, I must choose daily to cast my cares upon the Lord (Psalm 55:22). Jesus is the liberator of fear...but it's something that requires ACTION on my part. That action, in my opinion is prayer...sometimes it's as simple as me saying, "Help me, God!" Sometimes it's more in-depth where I'm pouring out my own garbage at the foot of the cross so he can fill me with the peace that transcends all understanding (Phil 4:7).

Losing control and gaining peace in the process. I need a dose of this everyday. Sorry, Janet...I'm kickin' you to the curb.

k