The Surrender of the Tiny Tantrumming Terror

Hello My Faithphilled friends!
Hope you're having a great week! This week we're gonna talk about Surrender. The word Surrender keeps coming up in everything I'm doing. From playing a ninja game with my son to a random podcast to my daily devotion; God keeps putting the word in my path. So this week we are talking about what it means, why it's important and how to do it.
Fun fact about me: I am the youngest of 4 children. To say I was a brat is to put my behavior delicately. I was a terror and a tantrum throwing terror at that. Tantrums were my tool to drive my parents crazy. As I have now entered parenthood, I have inherited my own tantrum throwing terror. He doesn't care the time or place he will fall out kicking, screaming, punching, biting in a minute. Like he goes from 0 to 100% REAL QUICK. Sometimes, I just look at him and decide I'm done with being a mom. Like am I fit to really be this kid's guardian? Has God properly assigned me to this task? Oh course I don't mean this seriously, and if I did certainly not forever but in that moment that's definitely how I feel. Especially on the days that start off with a tantrum and then we have an never ending cycle of tantrums. Those days really make me rethink my entire ability to parent. And I am CERTAIN God is answering my mother's prayers by using my son to teach me valuable life lessons.
The thing about a tantruming terror is that the more you do to try to control them or the situation, the quicker things escalate and the more out of control everything becomes. The only way to get a tiny terror to calm down is to let go of your control and surrender. Surrendering means to stop resisting and submit to their power. In the case of a tiny terror you're resisting your desire to react which ultimately just fuels the fire. You are surrendering to the big feelings they are having and giving them time and space to process what they are experiencing. They don't have the capacity to process all their big feelings, so we have to logically respond as opposed to quickly reacting. We have to have the same patience for them that God has for us, while he waits on us to surrender to Him.
What happens when you surrender?
Well, eventually your child comes to you to surrender. Once they have had time to cry out their feelings and space to process, they realize they need your help. They realize they are not sure why they are feeling this way or that they need help problem solving so, they come right back to you, their trusted adult. As we go through life we begin to collect baggage. Our parent abandoned us, our friend betrayed us, we failed, we messed up. We cope or create a defense mechanism to ease our pain from our disappointments and in turn that becomes our baggage. Though it was easy to pick up, it is very difficult to put down. We never want to put our baggage down because we don't know when we're going to need it. So we hang on tightly to shame, bitterness, fear, pain, pride and ego and we begin functioning with it. However, we never truly realize how heavy the weight of our baggage is and how much it is exhausting us. Holding on to it is actually making us malfunction and holding us back. So in order for us to move forward we must loosen our grip on our baggage, unpack it and give it to God. God is such a great parent and since He is your trusted adult, He is never going to fight you for your stuff. He is going to wait until you recognize that your stuff is causing you to tantrum. That your stuff is controlling you or standing in your way. He is going to wait until you lay down your baggage and give him permission to pick it up and be in control.
How do we give him permission to be in control?
The same way our tantruming terror does. By letting go of our controlling ways and know-it-all mindset and totally surrendering to Him. Sometimes that means picking ourselves up off the floor, covering our face from shame and laying at His feet with all of our baggage. By showing him that we trust, respect and honor Him. Showing Him that we will no longer fight Him but instead we will listen and be obedient to His will and His ways. Surrendering is an act of obedience that shows God how much we honor Him and His place in our life. Surrendering is a necessary step in our lives because God can't use us for his Glory if we refuse to surrender to His will.
Now Im not saying that once you do this one time with your tantruming terror that they will never tantrum again. In reality, for both a child and an adult it is something we must continually practice. Doubt will creep in, frustration will get the best of us and in those moments we will instinctually try to pick up our old baggage. But we must keep in mind that we must surrender to our loving parent, because He knows whats best and would never try to hurt or harm us. As we practice our daily reminder, it will be easier and easier to trust God and surrender and each day.
Until Next Time My Faithphilled Friends,
Xoxo
Amanda Christine