Today I'm linking up with Kate Motaung for Five Minute Friday. This week's word is "CONTROL."
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When I was young, my brothers and I loved watching Get Smart: a TV show about a dim-witted secret agent, Maxwell Smart, who worked for the Control agency, battling against an evil organization called Kaos.
Even now we still quote lines from the show, like this one:
Oily villain from Kaos: "You're very loyal ... and very stupid."
Max: "We're Control agents. We're trained to be very loyal and very stupid."
Or this:
Max: "There are a hundred Control agents outside at this very minute."
Villain: "I find that very hard to believe."
Max: "Would you believe fifty Control agents?"
Villain: "I don't think so."
Max: "How about three Boy Scouts with slingshots?"
In Maxwell Smart's world, Kaos was no match for Control. In my world, though, control is rarely the solution to chaos ... at least not my control. I may have my own narrow ideas of how to solve problems or what should be done to make the world better -- but so often they fall short because I don't see the whole picture, only my small part of it.
Life works better when I accept my limitations and trust that God is in control. That doesn't mean I do nothing -- only that I recognize when it's time to stop forcing and accept that I don't have all the answers. It's actually a lot easier to see what my place and purpose are if I don't try to control everything. I need to remember that.
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This! mean I do nothing -- only that I recognize when it's time to stop forcing and accept that I don't have all the answers....YES! I wrote something so similar. Stop forcing, accept, the universe speaks. Your FMF neighbor #34
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sabrina - I'm glad that resonated with you. I appreciate you stopping by to comment. I'm loving FMF; it's a great new element in my life in 2017.
DeleteI just referred to Get Smart at a meeting this week, bringing up the cone of silence. Remember Max and the Chief leaning out from underneath it so they could yell to each other what was supposed to be top secret?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, on the chaos and control thing: I'm glad God is a God of order, because I can barely keep my sock drawer organized.
Yes, the Cone of Silence! The Chief was so long-suffering, wasn't he (emphasis on the suffering). Our family used to say "Sorry about that, Chief" to each other all the time.
DeleteMy mother-in-law is very ill in hospital following a severe stroke. She also already has vascular dementia so she is now barely functioning. I'm finding it very, very hard to not be 'in control' of any of it. I always used to be able to make her feel better. Now I can't and I have to remind myself over and over that God is in charge and God is always good. This is especially hard when a loved one is in extreme distress or pain. So hard, God! I wonder if this is a glimpse of how the women who loved Jesus felt when they gathered at the cross. If so, then it's an honour, in a sense, whatever my feelings on the subject.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jeannie. Your words are always thoughtful and God has certainly used them today!
Hi Sandy - I'm glad to hear you found this helpful. So sorry about your mother-in-law. If you are like the women gathering around the cross, then your mother-in-law is being Jesus to you: Jesus in His suffering and vulnerability. That's an amazing thought, isn't it? Thanks for sharing and I hope things go well with her, whatever that means in God's plan.
DeleteIt's actually a lot easier to see what my place and purpose are if I don't try to control everything. - Great words here Jeannie. When we give up that need to control it all, we can concentrate on the blessing of the journey itself.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you
PS I totally loved Get Smart. I believe we watched reruns on Nickelodian.
Visiting from FMF
Hi Kelly, thanks for stopping by. This was a good prompt; I think all of us can relate to this desire to take the reins ourselves and run our lives. Trust really works against that. God bless you too.
DeleteOh, I loved Get Smart, all that wonderful old Saturday night TV when we were kiddos. Not much to watch these days ... thanks for taking me back, Jeannie.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it, Linda! We never watch any of the current shows: never saw Breaking Bad, or Mad Men, or The Sopranos... On Saturday nights my husband and daughter and I have our pizza night and each time, we watch one episode of The Andy Griffith Show. We've been doing that for a few years now and are currently on season 5. We've also introduced our daughter to Get Smart too and she enjoys it. It's fun sharing some of our old favourites with her.
DeleteHi Jeannie, This post reminded me of an episode of Star Trek, Voyager that I re-watched recently. Tuvok (Vulcan officer, always in control) has been unsuccessful in trying to train members of the crew (Maquis rebels) who were having trouble adapting to Star Fleet protocols. Neelix (the ship's morale officer) is trying to help him understand what his problem might be:
ReplyDeleteNEELIX: What seems to be the problem?
TUVOK: That is what I have been trying to determine, and I'm afraid I am at a loss. I have taught literally thousands of cadets and I have never encountered these difficulties. My methods are sound and time-honoured. I insist on strict adherence to rules and protocols. I never waver from that approach. I have always been successful in honing each cadet into a Starfleet officer.
NEELIX: Come with me, I want to show you something.
(Neelix takes Tuvok to a flower arrangement by the counter.)
NEELIX: These are Keela flowers. Beautiful, and remarkably strong. The stem is flexible, impossible to break. But occasionally on the same plant there's a bloom whose stem is not so flexible. Ah, here's one. And when the stem is brittle, it breaks. (Neelix demonstrates.)
TUVOK: You're saying that the Maquis crew is rigid and inflexible. That they will never adjust to Starfleet rules.
NEELIX: No, Mister Vulcan, I'm saying that you are rigid and inflexible, but maybe if you'd learn to bend a little, you might have better luck with your class. Those Maquis aren't Starfleet cadets. You can't treat them the same way. Get to know them, try to find out what they're like inside. You might discover a better teaching method.
What a great example, Franceen! Funny how Tuvok immediately assumes that it's the others who are the rigid, inflexible ones.....
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