...they made his spirit bitter...

They. They, he, she, people...

Sometimes they make our spirits bitter. They make us speak harsh words.

As if we don't have any control over our lives.

If only they would act a certain way my life would be better. Would it really? How much control are we so willingly putting into other people's hands?

I've done it. Moses certainly did it. The Israelites complained to him for leading them into the wilderness to die. They no longer trusted their leader. And what did Moses do? He turned around and complained to God. Moses, like so many of us, fell victim to "they." Because of his distrust, he ended up not getting to witness the promised land. They. (psalm 106:32-34 for the curious)

What chance do we have then of having complete control over our lives? Well, we have to first realize that we are made of God's essence and we need to trust in God in order to find wholeness in our lives. When we don't trust, we rely only on ourselves; and it only gets us so far. This happens in crises most of the time. When I was battling depression in my twenties, I truly believed that I could program my life in such a way that would lead me out of my weariness. What it did was cause distraction. Once the distraction was gone, I fell apart. The time away from the distraction made me aware that something was missing, which I often filled with other imperfect people.

God didn't make us into partial human beings who need to be made whole by others. We are already whole and our relationships bring abundance to our lives. Trusting in God first is paramount for well lived lives.



Note: this is not to suggest that I think we will negativity into our lives. People disappoint us all the time, and others are seriously hurt by other people.

Children who experience abuse have no control over that. However, we as people have a responsibility to respond to children who have endured trauma even if they don't figure out how to address it until they become adults. We must be able to trust God first in order to enter into healing relationships with others.