We can’t control the wind! Stress-less life

My kids wanted to go fly kits tonight….it seemed a perfect night to do so!!  I was glad that there seemed to be a little bit of a breeze.  So, we headed outside together.  The 4 year old and 2 year old with their kites in hand.  Determined to fly those kites high!   As we began to try to fly kites, it seemed we were having some trouble.  The wind wasn’t as good as we had thought, and the kids don’t fully understand how to fly kites yet. So, needless to say, the kite flying was more like “kite dragging” and “tree catching”.  They were trying so hard, and you could tell they were so determined!  My four year old turned to me and said, “Mom, maybe there is some wind in the neighbors yard”. My two year old would say “Mom  – you have to run faster like me and it will work” – then he would race across the hard pulling his kite on the ground. They wanted these kites to fly so badly, but it just wasn’t going to happen tonight.  There was nothing I could do, nothing they could do….the wind just wasn’t there.  As I watched my determined children try to make this kite flying work, it hit me that everything that was happening at that moment completely related to stress in our lives. How many times have we wanted something to happen so bad in our lives, and yet it doesn’t seem to turn out quite right? How many times have we wished that we could just go “get some wind” somewhere else?  How often have you thought, “if I just try a bit harder or run a bit faster” it will all work out?   For me, this all hit very close to my own struggles.  I struggle with situations and problems that I can’t control.  I want to fix problems, I want solutions, I want others to be happy, and I want everything to just work out perfectly all the time.  But along with that, comes A LOT of stress and pressure that I bring upon myself. I am learning every day, and realizing a very important point in this life, and that is this:  “WE CAN’T CONTROL THE WIND”. We can’t go through life forcing things to happen.  We can work on things, hope for things, and pray through situations, but ultimately, we are not in control.  And that is okay, because…GOD IS!! Our job is to go fly our kites. Meaning – our role is to do our very best, and know that the outcome is going to be what it will be.  Sometimes there is wind to take our dreams high, and other times, we feel like we are being drug on the ground.  However, we can’t spend our life stressing over things that we can’t change.  We have to show up, serve, love, and be the best version of ourselves day in and day out.  We have to seek ways to show others that God is the one that is in control, and that all that we do should point to Him.  So, after coming in from attempting to fly kites tonight with my kids, I had a new take on life.  We didn’t get those kites in the air – but we did have a great time enjoying life together.  It wasn’t about the kite – it was about being with my kids.  Sometimes things don’t quite go as we plan, and that is okay.  That is okay.  We can’t control the wind, but we can enjoy the breeze! –Rachel Curtis Founder, P31 Fitness]]>