OUT OF CONTROL
«And this small and temporary trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory, much greater than the trouble» (2 Corinthians 4:17, GNT).
Nicole Zasowski is a couple’s therapist and American author. In her book, From Lost to Found, she tells her story. Nicole had a «perfect» life in California: she was happily married and had a successful professional career. Then her husband was offered a job in Connecticut and they both moved there. With that change, a season of suffering was unleashed. Nicole was jobless, she had five spontaneous abortions and was given a devastating diagnosis. She lost her sense of control and every false anchor that had previously given her a sense of identity and safety. «For the first time I felt I had not managed and orchestrated the situation, and I could not control it,» she says. Ironically, it was when she had the least control that she found more freedom in Christ.
When Nicole moved, it was very difficult for her to find a job. In California she had been an acclaimed therapist, but in Connecticut nobody seemed to care about her curriculum. No matter how hard she tried to impress employers in job interviews, she could not get them to hire her where she wanted. She started working a few hours in a private clinic and the remaining time in a clothes shop. «I was clinging so strongly to my own vision that I could not see or appreciate God’s provision. Finally, I thought: What if God’s provision is really fabulous; like a surprise gift that was not on my list, but better than anything I could have imagined?» Although Nicole would have never chosen those jobs, she says during that season she not only grew on a professional level, but also on a personal level. Her paradigm shifted and she began working motivated by her value in Christ, not to obtain value.
Her longing to be a mother also underwent a similar transformation. Nicole told God that, although she wanted to be a mother, her value would not change if it did not take place. After some time, she conceived and had two children. Nicole writes, «No one is promised an easy life. But God’s love is there even in the most difficult seasons. And that love changes us. This is what I want to tell you: on the other side of the pain we would not choose, we find a transformation we would not exchange for anything.»
Dear Lord, please remind me today that the less control I have over a situation, the more I am forced to depend on You. The most challenging circumstances lead to greater freedom.
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Take From: Devotional Thoughts for Women 2022
«NO FEARS»
BY: VANEZA PISSUTO
Collaborators: Alexandra Pérez & Angelica Cuate.