What can we do when things are out of our control?

This could have been on the Bible Study Blog, but....

I was talking to a friend today about how to handle difficult situations that are truly out of our control, especially for a single parent.

It does not pay to worry about the aspects of things that are out of your control. I have learned this the hard way. We have to surrender our children to the Lord and realize that they belong to Him more than they belong to us. Nevertheless, we need to teach them that, although they should love the other parent, they need to be taught that certain behavior is wrong because God said it's wrong; not because we said it was wrong. Also we should teach them that people who do things the wrong way will face undesirable consequences, in one way or another, in the future.

I think the key, here, is the idea of surrendering. That doesn't always mean that we don't do anything. I like what John Wesley said: "Pray as though everything depended on God and work as though everything depended upon you."

Easier said than done....I know.