"I want control"

There are things—and people—we just can’t change.

At least not on our own.But we really, really want to. We want to control the situation, change this person, change ourselves.

We push and pull against God, asking Him to come, to fix this particular situation, change this person, transform us. We are frustrated, struggling to lay down our expectations to God. We desire freedom, surrender, hope. But we don’t know how to get there, live in that place of peace.

I know.

So we battle, mainly within ourselves, occasionally pleading with God for help.

We so need to hear what God’s take is on our situation. We are desperate to hear what He has to say.

We're not alone. There are women, just like us, who struggle with this too.

Meet Elisabeth.

Elisabeth tries to keep it all together, battling with pride. She is resistant to confession, repentance, community. She asks God, “How do I be a better person?” She fears she is a mess and doesn’t know how to change.

Meet Clementine.

Clementine is mourning the loss of her mom who died of cancer. She has believed the lie that she needs to have it all together, be strong and perfect and good, as a way to help her mom when she was sick. She asks God, “Did I love well enough?” She fears she can’t be perfect, and this haunts her.

Meet Bree.

Bree is a mom of a teenager. She misses connection with her son, and she struggles with this new loss of control she feels in not being able to change the circumstances he faces or influence him the way she would like. She asks God, “What will I do next?” She fears she can’t be the mom her son needs her to be.

I see parts of myself in each of these women. Wow, yes, I struggle with surrendering control. The stories of Elisabeth, Clementine, and Bree are fictional, yet inspired by prayer. They are a few of the women of Breathing Eden, a book of conversations with God on light, fresh air, and new things.

Do you not want to wait to breathe Eden? Do you want to be encouraged by what God says to us when we struggle to surrender control?

Pre-order Breathing Eden and respond right back to this email (jennifer@gatherministries.com). Include the image of your Amazon email receipt. I will send you the first five chapters of Breathing Eden: Conversations with God on Light, Fresh Air, and New Things, right away.

*And here is where you need to go to discover all the other free gifts from ordering more than one book!

Which woman sounds most like you? In what area of your life do you want to surrender control? I would love to know and pray with you.