While out running yesterday, U2s “Moment of Surrender” came on the iPod. The chorus and one verse in particular stopped me dead in my tracks:
I was punching in the numbers at the ATM machine
I could see in the reflection
A face staring back at me
At the moment of surrender
Of vision over visibility
I did not notice the passers-by
And they did not notice me
I was speeding on the subway
Through the stations of the cross
Every eye looking every other way
Counting down ’til the train would stop
Starting with the time we are born we are pushed (unless of course delivered by C-Section and then I suppose we are pulled) into a world that wants us to be independent. Parents are taught not to pick up crying babies. As parents, we cannot wait for our children to walk by themselves (so we don’t have to carry them), talk for themselves (to tell us what they want), and ultimately live by themselves. This independence is not a natural state. God does not want us to be independent from Him – why would it be His will to be independent from our human families? We are taught to keep our guard up and not appear weak. Many of us are taught to never surrender.
We all need a moment of surrender every now and then to reflect on not only who we are as people and how we fit into the world, but to spend time listening to the will of our God. It is in these moments of surrender that we become most creative due to His inspiration. When we fully surrender our wants, needs, and fears over to God good things happen. It takes a strong person to be able to do this and it is something I work on personally.
