Control Yourself

Happening, New Beginnings, and DYC are diocesan retreats that can be life-changing. I went to each of these weekends while growing up as an “Episcopal Kid”  as an attendee, a team member, a chaperone, and a babysitter. We are taking groups to all of these weekends, so sign up. While many of the details of the experience might have faded, the relationships I formed with people from all over the Diocese of Atlanta continue. You will learn on the weekends that “you are now a part of a welcoming and loving community.” Whenever I’ve needed a shoulder to lean on or an ear to listen, I’ve relied on friendships formed on a Diocesan retreat at Camp Mikkell. If you’re feeling unsteady or unsure in your faith, want to explore your many questions, or just want to try something totally different, join us at Happening, New Beginnings or DYC. (Look for details in the weekly email for signing up, etc.) Take the first step and register at eycdioatl.org

Thinking about how grateful I am for making the choice to be a part of these experiences reminds me of something interesting we learned in my Psych class called “Locus of Control.” LOC refers to the extent to which people believe that they have control over their lives. So, if you have an internal locus of control, you would likely believe that you have free will and that most things that happen to you are due to yourself. Someone with an external locus of control, however, would believe that things that happen to them are mostly due to fate, or to luck, or maybe God.  Statistical studies have shown that people with an external locus of control are more likely to get injured or die in natural disasters. Sometimes, during natural disasters, for instance, people with an  external locus of control are more likely to stay put, refuse help, and just ride out them out because they may have a “whatever happens- happens” sort of outlook on life. But people with an internal locus of control would tend to take action and get out of harm’s way. (This is, of course, a generalization and may not always be true for everyone).

Yet, there were many people in the path of Irma who had no choice about being able to get out of the way. Certainly, none of the folks who lost their homes had any control about where the storm landed. (And God certainly did not direct Irma towards any particular place).  Paul, in his letter to the Romans, recognizes that , in the end, there are many things we are not always in control of. He says, “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. “ Whatever the outcome, he says, we all belong to God, and we should act as such.

Which leaves us with this: many of us have more control than others. We who have  electricity, for instance, might find room in our house for someone who has been in the dark for days. We might take some of our money and send it to Episcopal Relief and Development or even help an older neighbor clean out her yard. When we are the ones who have some control over our environment or lives we are called to direct ourselves towards being the hands and feet of Christ to those who (their fault or not) have not been so fortunate. Wherever we are in our “locus of control” we belong to God.