Misplaced Responsibility

One of my characteristics that I think many people know is that I love to have control. I'm pretty sure that have been many blog posts with me stating this fact as well. I allow this control hunger to permeate every part of my life. When I see that someone is having a problem, I want to take on the responsibility of helping them through it. I am not saying that this is a bad thing, because we all need other people to walk through the difficult things with us, but it can become a problem. For instance, I take on the responsibility of not just walking with this person, but also fixing them. I believe that this is out of good intentions (wanting to see the other person heal or come out of the situation strong), but I know that it is not good. When I see someone I love not doing what they should be doing or regressing in the process, I begin to believe that I did something to fail them. This is misplaced responsibility. It is not my job or my responsibility to make the changes for them. Only we can desire to make the changes in our own lives. Instead of being disappointed or feeling like a failure when I see someone that I care about regressing, I will walk along side them and continuously pray for them.