surrender...

"Surrender."

The very word means to give up, right? as in "I surrender!" when watching movies in which the good guy gets the bad guy.

The surrender I am thinking of though, doesn't necessarily mean to give UP so much as to give IN...to allow another control over your life. In the Bible, there are many instances of people surrendering to God's will for them. Moses. Esther. Mary ("be it done to me according to Your Word!") and of course, Jesus; "not my will but Thy will be done!"

I couldn't imagine being any one of these people, facing insurmountable odds in times when giving up almost assuredly meant death. But then again, when one has God, Almighty. Omnipotent and more, how could anything go wrong?

It's easy, just ask Peter. When he got out of the boat and began walking towards Jesus, by keeping his eyes on Him, he was able to focus on Jesus and not on the storm. As soon as he realized what he was doing, he gave up confidence in what was happening and began to panic, floundering...until Jesus stepped in to save him. "Oh Peter!" Jesus replied with mirth, "oh ye of little faith!"

There have been times when I too, have faced odds that seemed against me. We all have at some point. My health. The abuses I endured from childhood on. And so much more. Over time, I realized that if I were like the woman, whose faith was so strong that she felt that just by touching the hem of Jesus' garment that she would be healed, that was when major miracles occurred.

Surrender.

Nature knows how to do it. Seasons come and go, each one bringing with it challenges as well as beauty. Spring renewal, when birds and bees begin the cycle by pollinating flowers that perpetuate until Autumn, when cooler days and longer nights signal to Nature that it is once again, time to rest. And all of nature surrenders, until Spring, when it begins again. Nowhere does anything put up a defense, nowhere does a flower determine that it is not ready yet to bloom. Dandelions bloom in early Spring, while peonies bloom in June, Chrysanthemums bloom in August and so on...and so it must be with us.

Faith means that we yield to a Higher Power. When news comes of a sad health prognosis, we determine to deal with it as best we can. In today's world, greedy companies seem more determined to make profits at any expense rather than use safeguards to ensure that the population remains safe from pollution. People are being diagnosed with cancers and other autoimmune illnesses at a higher rate now and although we have the means to end it, pharmaceutical companies also making huge profits seem determined that only a few are able to enjoy that. It would seem that we are surrendering to the will of those who wish to end life as we know it. Yet we still have the means to make noise of our own, to say, "enough!" and ensure that our future generations will be able to enjoy life as we want for them. In many ways, this is exactly what God wants...had wanted in fact, for us all! To surrender ourselves to Him, recognizing that He has our best interests at heart; though the news may be grim, we can be certain that there is a better future out there. "Ask and you shall receive," He told us. "Knock and the door shall be opened for you!"

Children have such adorable faith! They see and believe things that, as we grow, we tend to lose sight of. Let's all have the faith of a child, faith that sees...that just knows that, no matter what,  everything will turn out right.