This could be easier.
How many times have you thought that life could have been easier?
From the outside, you may look poised and coordinated, but your heart hides fresh scars from the world. I’ve spent the last seven days in a whirlwind of trying to uplift my life and start a new adventure.
There’ve been more than a hundred times when I’ve thought “this could be easier”; whether I’ve been faced with questions of emotions, health or general resistance to change.
I wish I had more control
I’m a pathological planner. I like to be in control of every detail and have things go according to plan. The problem with that is my assumption that I have control over certain aspects of life to begin with.
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew chapter 6, verses 26-27).
My need for control comes from a desire to stem my anxiety. This scripture in Matthew chapter 6 is one of my favourite scriptures because it reminds me that even though I may be worried, I can still be practical and live life despite my fears.
The reality is that worrying won’t add to my life, if anything it robs me of enjoying life’s adventures. The moments that are unexpected are the moments that we can’t control and worrying about things that are out of our control serves little purpose but to hinder us from the blessings wrapped around surprises. We have been created to live a life that reflects God in and around us, His life in us means that we can make life-shaping decisions even when we feel that life is happening to us.
I wish I had more time
Part of my desire to be in control comes from a delusion that I can plan my way into perfect timing. We often question life’s timing:
“Why did it have to happen now?”
“Couldn’t it have been later?”; or
“I wish I had more time. More time to do…I don’t really know, but just more time.”
“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” (Psalm chapter 27, verse 14).
To wait is defined as “staying in one’s place until a particular time.” The time that we are waiting for is not of our own making. Often, we may disagree or try to hasten God, but we are strong because everything happens in His time. When God’s timing is accelerated, we can take heart knowing that we are in His time. Even in moments of surprise, these are the moments that we have been silently praying for, to see answers to our prayers in ways we did not anticipate. Yes, we may wish we had more time, but we have certainty that the moment lies in God’s time.
There are moments in life that surprise us, there are moments where we feel surpassed by life and unable to comprehend or keep up. Yes, this could be easier, maybe there are cracks showing in your external façade, but in everything rest assured that you are in the Creator’s hand. This could be easier, but you are not alone. This could be easier, but you were made for more.
Hailing from South Africa, Crystelda is an avid nerd and an unapologetic dreamer. With a BSc. Biological Sciences and BCom Hons in marketing, she has launched the Christian lifestyle blog - Selah Blogger and is the joint winner of the 2019 International Theology Award. The blog can be found at https://selahblogger.wordpress.com/ and her previous articles may be viewed at https://www.pressserviceinternational.org/crystelda-naidoo.html