For the last couple of months, my wife has been participating in a writing prompt and blog hop at Heading Home called Five Minute Friday. Basically, you use the prompt that is given to you and just write about that for five minutes without planning or editing. Just get the thoughts out.Since I seem to be having trouble getting back on a writing schedule, I thought I would start doing some of these prompts. This is my first. This week's prompt is CONTROL.
OK. Five minutes starting now.
I moved to China with my wife four months ago and have really had to learn what it means to relinquish control. I have never really been one to have to control everything in my life. In fact, my wife likes to call me a "fly by the seat of my pants" type of person, but moving here where I do not know the language, have no idea what is going on with any of the conversations around me and can't even read the signs on the street or in stores has shown me how much I do like to have control of at least a few things in my life. Or at least how many things I take for granted.
Also, with the vast differences in cultural understands of various things, I have also had to relinquish control of how I am perceived by other people since there is SO SO SO much that we just do not understand about how people relate to each other.
Control is one of those areas where we are supposed to trust God and not try to do everything for ourselves, but it is not until all that you know is taken away from you that you realize how much you relied on yourself and didn't trust as much as you thought you did.
I'm slowly able to take a little more control of my life and not have to rely on the kindness of people that I have met here. It feels good to have a say in my own life again, but the more self-reliant I become, the less I relate to the community of people around me.
I have no mental map.
ReplyDeleteThat makes me feel adrift. Therefore, I have no control.
Maybe we can at least get back the illusion of control
DeleteI so enjoyed your post. There are so many sides to this word! We crave control don't we yet sometimes we welcome not having to have any. I'm right next to you #96
ReplyDeleteIt's a tricky balance.
DeleteControl is an illusion anyway. Robert Burns said it best in that "The plans of mice and men often go astray."
ReplyDeleteYeah. I don't know how much I actually had control of before leaving the States, but the comparison to then and now is staggering.
DeleteI think I might too controlling to go somewhere where I'd have little to none, at least not without a guide.
ReplyDeleteI'm chicken!
I really brings you to terms with who you are.
DeleteGood for you! It looks like you've been able to relinquish at least some of your control back to God! It forces trust, and then sometimes we want it back! Why, I do not know.
ReplyDeleteLike many times, I often get backed into a corner before I finally stop and trust like I was supposed to be doing anyway.
Delete