I'm ba-ack!
Did you miss me?
Of course you did...
Right?
Not sure it you all saw my comment on Supersized, but I had been limiting my computer use and not watching TV for the month of October.
Anyhoo, last night some of my siblings and I sat down to watch 'It's a Meaningful Life'...the VeggieTales version of 'It's a Wonderful Life'. And who knew that even I, a 13 year old, could learn something from those little vegetables. Now, let me stop here and say that I have never seen It's a Wonderful Life, nor do I know anything about the plot. To be quite honest, the VeggieTales one kinda reminded me of a Christmas Carol, of all things. For those of you haven't seen the Veggie-spin on it, Larry the Cucumber stars as Stewart, who was a high school(or maybe college) football star. Horror of horrors, he misses the winning pass in the big game, and worse, he misses it to the decoy(tragic, right?) and then the decoy(that little squash guy, the one who sings about cheeseburgers) becomes a famous star while Stewart doesn't have as much money. He always wishes, If only I had made that catch.... life would be better. I'd be able to leave my small town. My family would have more money. And so on. He is jealous of that little yellow guy, named Morty in the movie.Then, a train, The What-If Express appears on the football field. Larry gets on, and meets a conductor named Gabe. Gabe shows him what life would be like if he had caught the ball. He shows him his life as a famous person(who is crabby all the time) what life would be like for his family(which didn't really exist since he never got married) and than the last stop is where he can make the choice to either stay in this new life, or go back to his old one. How often do we board the What-If Express(Also known as the Land of If Only.)It showed me that worrying and always thinking What If or If Only, we aren't really trusting God. When we go to the Land of If Only, we are pretty much saying, 'God, you must have not been paying attention or something, because this didn't turn out right.' We're doubting God's plan. We're doubting that God knows whats best for us. In essence, we're saying we know better than God. I read something today that said worry is a form of pride. We aren't trusting God enough to give him our problems.
Cast all your anxieties upon Him, for He cares for you 1 Peter 5:7
I love this verse. This topic is a big issue for me. I'm an anxious person. A worrywart. And I'm slowly starting to realize that that isn't simply a character trait, it can be a sin. It's the sin of doubting God's plan and provision. The sin of pride(because I'm not trusting God when he says he can handle my problems...better than I can.) God has been hammering this one on me the past few weeks. A message at youth group with the theme, Do Not Worry...."Do not be anxious about anything, but instead, through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6. Learning about Moses in school. Moses didn't trust that God would provide him the ability to speak in front of the Israelites...and missed out on some blessings. Watching It's a Wonderful Life. The issue of Susie Magazine that came in the mail today. I guess God's trying to tell me some things...
DO. NOT. WORRY.
TRUST. IN. ME.
Another theme in the movie was comparing yourself to others. Stewart was comparing his life to Morty's. Another problem for me.
She's prettier.
People like him better.
She's better at (fill in the blank).
So next time you find yourself slipping away onto that train, remember.
God's got it under control.
"For I know the plan I have for you, declares the LORD. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future"
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
