Intentional Surrender
Surrender sounds simple, but in reality it can be one of the hardest things we are asked to do. We say we trust God, but when it comes to our worries, our health, our businesses, our dreams, and our future, we often hold on tighter than we realize. Intentional surrender is the daily, and sometimes moment-by-moment choice to release control and trust that God sees the bigger picture, even when things don’t make sense to us.
For 15 years, I was a teacher, a really good one. I poured ALL of myself into my job because I loved it. I loved my students, the relationships I built with them, and watching our music program grow through the years. Planning concerts, directing musicals, and seeing the kids perform was incredibly rewarding. Inside my own school community I felt appreciated by students, parents, and co-workers and really loved each of them. But over time I became incredibly exhausted. Like so many teachers, I was underpaid for the amount of time and energy poured into the job, and the growing lack of appreciation for the profession really started weighing on me. I was burning out.
Around that same time, something unexpected was growing in my life. I had originally started using doTERRA simply as a consumer because I was trying to address some health issues. I never imagined it would become a business, and I certainly never imagined it would lead me to leave my teaching career. But over time, I began to feel like maybe I wasn’t meant to teach in the traditional sense forever.
Still, leaving felt almost impossible. I had invested years into my education and those kids. I loved the relationships I had built with my students and how much the music program had grown because of the effort I had poured into it. My internal battle was real. I worried about job security. I questioned whether leaving would be irresponsible. And of course there was the fear…what if I failed?
This is where intentional surrender really began for me.
To me, intentional surrender means laying something at the foot of the cross and choosing not to pick it back up again. And sometimes that surrender has to happen over and over again throughout the day. When the thoughts creep in, What if this doesn’t work? What if I’m making a mistake? What if I fail? You lay it at the cross again and remind yourself that it belongs to God now, not you.
There were many prayers and more than one pros-and-cons list as I wrestled with this decision. Eventually I reached a breaking point. I was incredibly worn out and knew I didnt want to stay in that space… but at the same time my home business had grown to the point where replacing my income was possible. When I finally resigned, the feeling was a mixture of terror and relief. Terror because I was stepping away from security, and felt like I was letting everyone at my school down, and relief because deep down I knew God was calling me toward something bigger.
Even after making the decision, the surrender didn’t stop. There were still moments where fear tried to creep back in. In those moments, intentional surrender meant stopping the spiral of worry and giving the situation back to God again. It meant reminding myself that the outcome of my business, my finances, and my future didn’t ultimately belong to me, they belonged to Him.
Scripture reminds us of this truth: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5–6). And when the worries do creep in, we’re told exactly what to do with them: “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7).
Looking back, I realize God wasn’t asking me to stop teaching…He was asking me to teach in a different way. He was calling me to use my gifts to help people care for their mental and physical health and to invite others to pursue time freedom, mental freedom, and financial freedom.
What God has shown me through this experience is simple but powerful: obedience pays off, even when it’s scary. Peace comes when we release control and step bravely into the new roles God is calling us into. Surrender doesn’t mean life becomes easy, but it does mean we stop carrying burdens that were never ours to hold in the first place.
Sometimes the thing God asks us to surrender feels like the very thing that makes the most sense to hold onto. But often, on the other side of surrender is a life that is fuller, freer, and more aligned with the purpose He has for us. If you’re wrestling with something today, maybe the next step isn’t having all the answer…maybe it’s simply laying it at the foot of the cross and trusting God enough not to pick it back up again.
