In the 1960’s I read a book by Catherine Marshall titled
Beyond Ourselves. Even as a teenager, it spoke to me. And today, it speaks to me again. When I removed the book from the shelf and placed it on the table, I was transported back to the issues I faced then. As I opened the book, it fell open to the chapter on relinquishment.
I need to refresh my mind about The Prayer of Relinquishment.
Relinquishment: Voluntarily giving up your self-will and letting God take over.
When I came out of my oppressed life and became a whole person, I developed a pretty strong self-will. In many instances I needed that. But there are times when it can be a detriment to spiritual growth.
I thought I had achieved proficiency in the process of letting go.
When John received his cancer diagnosis with a terminal prognosis, we agreed to hand it over to God. During those three years we were infused with peace that could not be explained in earthly terms. We had let go of the end result.
But recently there have been two events in my life that have shown me I still need growth in this area. Without going into details, on both occasions in my mind I instantly endeavored to take charge of the outcome.
I grew up being taught that faith was believing, without a single doubt, that a specific thing would occur. If you doubted, you didn’t have faith. Yet I discovered that faith is just actively trusting God whether your request is granted or not.
We cannot see the bigger picture.
God has given us free will. We can try to control our circumstances, or we can take our hands off and rest in His love. As hard as it is, it’s our choice.
“And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.’” Matthew 26:39 (NASB)
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There is a company in our town called “Campbell and Company”. It’s a heating and air conditioning company, so they have several technicians who go out and work on HVAC. I have seen their trucks around town. For each technician, they have advertising on the side of the truck that says, “Campbell and _______” and they display the name of the technician there. 
