VAL PETERSON|GUEST I grew up going to a summer camp where the campers would repeat a chant at the start of every day. The Camp Director would call out, “If it’s to be…” and the entire camp would shout back, "It’s up to me!”  I confess that at the time, I didn’t think twice about what kind of mindset this was instilling in me. In the moment, it seemed like a great way to encourage kids to get along, try new things, and make the most of our days spent away from home. While it’s been decades since I attended that camp and shouted the chant, it continues to be my mode of operation. It seems that with the more kids I have, the life experiences I walk through, and the responsibilities I carry on my plate, the temptation to believe this lie only grows stronger.  When Desire for Control Shapes our Life What’s most frustrating to me is that I have experienced “that breaking point.” After walking through the near loss of my husband’s life to a brain tumor, you would think that I would know by now that all control lies in the Father’s hands. In the darkest moments of that season, there was nothing I could do but trust in the Lord. Yet here I am today, still believing and living by my childhood summer camp chant.  I relate to the apostle Paul in Romans 7 when he wrestles with himself saying, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (v.15). I hate believing that it is “up to me” to make things happen in and around my life. Yet I am discipled by a culture that says “YOLO” and to “live my best life.” Whether it’s in manipulating circumstances to work in my favor, taking on a role that is not mine to fill, or just reaching for my phone in a moment of uncertainty, the temptation to believe that God is holding out on me and the resulting grasp for control often rules the functional theology of my life. This desire for security, productivity, and knowledge comes from a deeper belief in the lie that it is up to me to sustain the joy and vitality of myself and my family, which only leads me to feel less secure, more anxious, and out of control...