Letting Kids Bake Cookies, and Other Struggles of Letting Go of Your Control

The music teacher at the school Mass sang from the second psalm. And I was transported away to the end of the age.

Jesus, who humbled Himself, now had all things at His feet. The Father crowned Him king of Heaven and Earth. “You are my son; today I have begotten you. Ask it of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and, as your possession, the ends of the earth (Psalm 2:7-8).”

As the psalm continued, I felt the same love of the Father that He bestowed at Jesus’ Transfiguration and Baptism: “This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased (Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5).” It was a transfer of power. And the Father was excited, joyous and proud.

The Lord has been taking me on a journey through several problematic areas of my life. Today, the Lord speaks of my control and of my reacting to control.

I felt the Father having so much trust in Jesus and giving Him freedom to run things as He sees fit. Haven't we seen the opposite in life, with people who micromanage in ways that keep others under a pall of control?

My mind traveled to Revelation 12, with the Father allowing Saint Michael to confront Lucifer and toss him out of Heaven. The Father didn’t tell Saint Michael how to do that. And then I was in Luke 1 with the Father sending Saint Gabriel to ask Mary to be the Mother of Jesus. The Father didn’t write a script for Saint Gabriel. The Father gave gifts and let them be used in creative freedom.

I have my own struggles of letting go so my kids can do things the way they want – even for those little things like when we bake cookies and my inner control wants to make sure they put the cookies down in even sizes and with equal spacing. I feel those struggles where I don’t want my husband to fold the laundry because the clothes turn out lumpy. We laugh at those things, but control is such a monster, in those little ways and in the bigger ways. The Father wants me to let go so they can act in creativity.

It’s bad when I’m controlling, and it’s bad that I’m so used to being micromanaged that I am scared to act; I'm looking for someone else’s prescribed perfection. I felt the Father blessing me to go ahead and try because He’s excited to see what I do, even if I fail at first.

So, all things haven’t already been done. You have an infinite, God who gives you freedom. He’s a creative God who delights in your trying, even if you fail at first. He delights in the ways you come up with solutions. He is pouring out His love for you, saying, “This is my Beloved, in whom I am well-pleased.”

May the Lord heal where we have been under someone's control in Jesus' name. And may the Lord free us of our big and little control of others in the name of Jesus. May we be filled with a peaceful surrender to God who delights in the creativity of His people.