I'm a Recovering Control Freak

By Marla

​Who’s a recovering control freak???

This girl.

Yep, and I know exactly where it comes from... Are you leaning in for this?

The fear of being judged or disapproved of. Yikes.

When we have come to believe in the voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success (control), popularity (control), perfection (control), being “right” (control), and power (control) are easily perceived as attractive solutions. (Note: none of these things are wrong; it’s when they become the idols we worship that they are dangerous and life-sucking.)

The real trap, however, is self-rejection. Reject myself before anybody else can reject me... Resonate? Me, too.

As soon as someone accuses me or criticizes me, as soon as I am rejected, left alone, or abandoned, I too-often (still!) find myself thinking, “Well, that proves once again that I am unimportant” … [My dark side says,] “I am no good, it worthy of love and acceptance… I deserve to be pushed aside, forgotten, rejected, and abandoned.”

Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of...

• dreams,
  
• of relationships,
  
• of peace, empowerment and joy,
  
• of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the “Beloved.”

Philosopher, theologian, and humble sage Henri Nouwen writes, “Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.”

The core truth of our existence is being the Beloved...

Sink your teeth into that delicious morsel of truth. Wowza.
​
You are in control of this fight for freedom from control. And YOU ARE WORTHY of your name The Beloved. Embrace it today and know that you are loved, important, and valuable because you are the Beloved.

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