I thought this article would be a breeze to write. Surrender is my jam! But to be honest, there is NOTHING easy about surrendering. Many people believe it means to give up, stop fighting, and stop trying, but I am here to tell you that is farthest from the truth. Surrendering is a courageous act of faith.
My teacher, Gabby Bernstein, says, “when you think you have surrendered. Surrender some more.” Surrendering is NOT giving up. Surrendering is giving over to God, the Universe, or whatever your understanding of a higher power is. Surrendering is letting go of control. It is a deep trust that whatever is best will become. It is a simple idea. It is not an easy accomplishment.
In 2017, I had lost my career, a career that I had spent my thirty’s building. I had found myself in a new position at a new place of employment. I was not happy. It was not the employer’s fault; no, it was ego-driven for sure amid already being unhappy about where I found myself. During mourning this career that I identified my self-worth with, my family was then thrown into the hardest season of our lives.
Suddenly, MOM could not fix what ailed my child, and my world turned into emotional chaos, where I had no idea how to “control” or “fix” or even navigate the waters. I sank into the darkest depression that I had known. I did my best to put a good face forward. Pretending to everyone that I was okay. At night and in my car alone, I wept. I would cry uncontrollably in the shower. I begged God for help to fix the broken pieces.
At the end of the day, I was still hanging on and wanting to control the situation. It is at this time I found my teacher, Gabby Bernstein, and her book “The Universe Has Your Back.” It changed my life, but it still didn’t have me surrendering the outcome to the Universe. God/Universe (I use the terms interchangeably) kept sending me messages to surrender. I ignored them.
Instead, it took a co-worker stopping me as I walked past her; she looked at me slightly confused and said, “I am not sure why, but I feel as if God put it on my heart to tell you to surrender. That you need to let go. Whatever it is, he has got this, and you need to trust that.” Immediately, I had tears. No one at my place of employment knew what I was going through. I could not speak to anyone about it. My shoulders relaxed, and I finally got the message to surrender.
I think about this time whenever I think I have surrendered, I immediately begin to surrender more. It takes trusting the Universe. It takes having faith that whatever is of benefit will take place. When you surrender to God, what you desire will show up far greater than you could have ever dreamed. When you push and control, you get in your own way. Ground yourself in faith. When challenging times emerge, it is a suitable time to strengthen and rely on your faith. Much like Job did. You must know that the difficulty is there to teach and guide you in the right direction. When we can allow the Universe to do it is the thing that is when we can truly start living.
Trust that allowing the path to unfold organically is one of the best ways to surrender. This is in the direction of aligned action. Everything has energy and frequency; this is what is meant by vibration. When we try to control or manipulate an outcome, this causes an equal vibration that is chaotic and frantic. That is not an energy of attraction. When we surrender the outcome to the highest good for all, that energy vibrates differently and is spiritually aligned. These actions are aligned with love, faith, service, and patience.
These roadblocks or obstacles are just detours in the right direction. The obstacle is there to protect you and often to teach you something. It is our job to figure out what that lesson may be but during this, have faith; how can we be afraid of a roadblock when we accept that it is sending us in the right direction! When we do this, we become a light in the world. That light will light the way on a path for you and others. Be a light unto the world, and remember when you think you have surrendered, surrender some more!
Stacey is a Meditation and Mindfulness coach specializing in Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). If you would like more information, you can follow her on Facebook @CoachStaceyTurknett. You can also reach her by email at Stacey.turknett@gmail.com and by phone at 850-879-1481.