Before you judge this title, believe me when I say that being independent is something I greatly admire in a person. It shows determination, confidence, and hard work. I am so thankful that I have parents who raised me to be independent and capable of doing anything and everything I could ever dream of.

Being stubbornly independent is something I take pride in, but it does have its downfalls. Especially when God asks me to hand over every part of my life, and let Him do the work.

Excuse me, what?

I don’t even want help carrying in my groceries, let alone surrender my life and plans to someone else. That’s terrifying, especially in a society that grooms us to be independent and praises us for getting what we want and when we want it. We are raised to work hard, not accept help, and struggle for what we want; it’s the American dream. But if we’re doing it alone and in our own ways, then we’re doing it all wrong.

“Submit to God and be at peace with Him; in this way, prosperity will come to you”--Job 22:21

Submit. Be at peace. Those are biggies, and things that don’t usually go hand in hand for me. I like to be in control of my own life. I like following my own plans and setting my own schedules and timelines. When I’m not in control, when my plans aren’t going my way, and when the timeline just isn’t adding up, I’m the exact opposite of peaceful. It stresses me out, but it’s such an essential part of trusting God.

Even though those things are so hard to accept, the sooner we learn them, the better. I used to have a timeline for my life, and everything was set out and lined up perfectly. I thought I knew when I would graduate, where I would move, who I'd be with, and what my future held. I thought I knew the answers to all of life's big decisions, but I was wrong, and I really struggled with letting go of my plan and surrendering everything to God.

Maybe you struggle with the same thing. Maybe you've been so independent for so long, that you're struggling with letting go of that tight grasp you on your life, but here's a secret, God will never ask you to give up something good without giving you something even greater in return.

His plan is better, and you will soon learn that submitting to Him DOES bring peace, because truth is, no matter how independent we think we are, or how many times we try to tell God, "I got this", we just don't.

We need His help, we need His guidance, and we need His grace. He will be more than happy to give it to us once we surrender and admit, "Okay, I don't got this". So don’t focus so much on being independent, and realize that it’s okay to accept a little help when it’s from the one who created you and has your best interests at heart. God wants to help you in your independence, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.