The Woody Factor

One of Olivia's favorite movies is Toy Story. The other day as we were watching it for the billionth time, God chose to use Woody the toy cowboy to help me make sense of something I had been experiencing.
At the beginning of the movie Woody's life is perfectly in control. Life is predictable. Woody has been Andy's favorite toy since the first grade. Life in Andy's room is perfect. Then, for his birthday, Andy receives a Buzz Lightyear (a new toy), and before Woody knows it strange things begin to happen to his perfectly predictable life. Andy begins to play with Buzz more and more. Andy even changes his bedspread and all of the posters in his room from cowboy stuff to spacemen stuff. The life Woody once knew had changed overnight. He had been demoted from Andy's bed to the toy box. Well, all of this change really began to get to Woody. He went from a happy, in control cowboy to a frustrated, grouchy somewhat out of control (things were definitely out of his control) cowboy. Woody's behavior was the example God chose to show me that I had something in common with the toy cowboy. Woody was displaying some characteristics that I found myself doing. Characteristics like; impatience which quickly lent to a display of some serious grouchiness, which was then accompanied with frequent fault finding of my two family members and the entire country of Romania. I think that Woody and I were trying to gain some kind of control over our current situation. Strange and new things were happening. The other toys were enjoying Buzz and his strong leadership qualities and Woody began to realize that things were not the same and he now wondered about his significance, his abilities, his place. Well, I am definitely not in the same predictable place where I once sensed a level of control. I, like Woody, am having to find my way back to a place of comfort and predictability. So many things in my life are truly unknown to me and I am grasping for some level of control to help provide some stability. God chose to show me through the life of a toy cowboy that a sense of out of control-ness is a part of the natural process of the experience of change. But - you know what? Realistically there is so much in our lives that truly is out of our control. We crave predictability, stability, and even complacency. However, A.W. Tozer writes, "Complacency (which means to be self-satisfied, which is usually unreflective) kills spiritual growth (p. 17. The Pursuit of God). We must guard ourselves against too much predictability, too much self-satisfaction. Because it is during the times when our lives are out of control that we tend to crave God's presence and provision. We call to Him earnestly from the depths of our souls. We cry deeply from the bottom of our hearts. And it is in these moments when we receive the peace that surpasses all understanding that we sit and savor our God's faithfulness. In moments when I have begun to feel the discomfort of anxiety, I have found that my immediate reaction has been to close my eyes and pray - seeking God's direction and peace. And wouldn't you know, God is honoring my prayers with His peace and assurance. Is my world still out of control - YES! Are we continuing to get ripped off by venders who realize we don't understand what they are charging us? YES! Have I been spared the experience of the process of change? No! That means that I am still the impatient fault finding grouch Queen at times, but I am more aware of what is happening and in those moments I can cry out to God, I can call Him earnestly from the depths of my soul knowing that in just a moment I can then sit and savor my Lords most precious peace. Therefore - don't be afraid of those out of control experiences. Know that you can cry, call and sit in the presence of your most Amazing God and soak Him into your spirit, enabling opportunity for spiritual growth to take place. The process of spiritual growth provides a more intimate walk with God the creator of all things. What a privilege to be His child!