I love to pass along ideas that have helped me and may help someone else. I stumbled across one this week and couldn’t wait to share it with you! My new discovery is a Surrender Box.
What exactly is a surrender box? It is a dedicated box where you surrender your problems. I know, surrender feels scary and relieving all at the same time! Because if you are anything like me, you only relinquish control at the last possible moment. When you can’t find a solution to a problem, surrender seems oddly appropriate because there is no other option.
What I have come to realize is that my willingness to surrender is the key to finding the answer. It seems that problems arise not for me to “fix” them but for them to “fix” me. The process of surrendering reminds me that within each problem is the possibility of a solution that I have yet to discover.
For me, surrendering is not always pretty. Usually it begins with a frank conversation with God. It goes like this: “I have tried everything I can think of and now I am all out of ideas. I don’t know what to do anymore, but I know you do. So, here you go. I am going to do my best to shut up and listen, so that I can follow the inspiration when it comes. Until you are ready to answer me, I am going to wait.” (And this is the kicker!) To really surrender, I have to wait without trying to fix, worry or analyze. It means waiting with an open heart that my prayer has already been answered and trusting that the solution is being delivered.
So, here is where the Surrender Box comes in to play! When I have a problem/situation that seems to have no answer I write my problem down on a piece of paper. I have the above conversation with God (see previous paragraph). I thank the Divine for their help. I place the problem in my Surrender Box and then I shut the lid on it! Once I have turned it over, it is now up to the Divine to decide what to do about it. Let me clarify that this doesn’t mean that I might never have to deal with the problem again. It means that I am waiting for the inspiration to deal with the problem. We all know what it feels like when God hands us a solution we never thought of–it feels like a minor miracle.
The Surrender Box visually represents a willingness to not push against the problem and not pull for an answer. It reminds me to wait with expectation that my problem has been answered and knowing at the perfect time I will know exactly what needs to be done. It is a reminder that I am being watched over, tended to, and cared for in all regards.