Lessons Learned from Lightning McQueen

Disney movies - who would have ever thought deep life lessons could be learned from such? Nonetheless, it happened....and to me, no less.

The other afternoon, my 2-year-old was enjoying himself while watching Cars and enjoying a snack. I was preoccupied with my 9-month-old and the laundry. Suddenly, something caught my ear. I turned to pay attention. The music had gotten serious and quieted. The little girl blue car, Sally had taken Lightening on a ride to the top of the gorge. Lightning's voice was filled with awe and reverence as he exclaimed how beautiful everything was below. He turned to glance back over his shoulder and posed a question to Sally: How come all those cars (referring to the ones flying by on the freeway) don't travel through radiator springs?

Sally sighed, and with a sad look, replied that there didn't used to be an interstate. When they decided to put it in, they cut through the landscape rather than rolling with its ebb and flow. Unfortunately, most of their perspective is on of making great time rather than having great time.

That's all I heart, and my brain started spinning: How many times do I go into efficiency mode - always looking for the quickest way to get something done. I cut through the landscape of life (whether it be mine or that of my husband's or sons') rather than enjoying the hills and valleys of the ride. Most times, my goal is to make great time rather than have a great time.

So I ask myself now, what might I be missing if I continue to bypass all of the little "towns" on this journey?

Lord, rescue me from my impatience and focus on the accomplishment rather than the process. Give me a heart and a love for the moment!
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Been There, Done That

What if you can't do it? What if it's not worth it? What if you crash?

What if...?

It's my turn to take the runway. But now, I'm not so sure I can do this. "Um, tower? This looks hard. I don't know if I want to do this any more. Maybe I should just turn around and be satisfied to park my plane in the hanger. Over." "But, Child, you can do this. I created you to do this, and I know you're going to do just fine. I've been there."

I shake my head. He just doesn't understand. Sure, he may have been in this pilot seat before and may have even experienced fear (He did become flesh just like me), but that's just not a fair comparison. I dare to speak my next thoughts out loud. "It's not the same. You had direct connection to the Chief Pilot. My goodness! You were his Son! Of course YOU could do it."

"Child," this time His response tender, words spoken direct and slow. "everything I had access to, you do as well."

That's the Holy Spirit. When Jesus returned to the Father, he left us the gift of the Counselor - His Spirit. So that we could always have direct access to Him just as He did to the Father. Christ, himself, was tempted to give up on the journey (See Luke 4). And we have been given the very same tools - Direct Access and the Manual.

So it's up to you. It's up to me. Will we choose to go forward? Or give into temptation to quit and be satisfied to sit in our chair in a dark hanger never experiencing the abundance of life Christ desires us to?

I'm game! Are you?



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