Many years ago when Taylor turned two she began a wonderful (yet irritating) new approach to life: independence. Whether putting on shoes or brushing her teeth her motto was, “I do it myself.” 

“I do it myself” was most annoying when she thought she had it all figured out – but was actually clueless.

I remember one morning when we were running late. I knelt down to help her put on her coat. “I do it myself,” she said, spinning around and desperately trying to shove her arm through the hood.

But this independent attitude isn’t just for toddlers. I’ll admit, there have been times in my life when I tried to “do it myself,” but was also clueless. Take my marriage for example.

Like many married couples, my husband and I have gone through challenges. But instead of turning to God for help, I formulated my own plan. Like a stubborn two-year-old, I thought I could fix the problem.    

So I tried … and tried … and tried … but guess what?  None of my feeble attempts changed the situation. It wasn’t until I swallowed my pride and sincerely asked God for help that real change took place. God was probably saying, “Whew, she’s finally out of the way! Now I can start helping them through this.”

My job wasn’t to fix the problem. My job was to pray – and get out of God’s way. Once I let God take control, I was amazed at what He could do. Even without my help!

Photo of “Grumpy Child” by Clare Bloomfield: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/