Lessons From Autopia

I have noticed this week that I seem to have a certain sense of calm despite my circumstances. Now the most cynical among you might shudder at such words due to the fear that by merely saying I have peace, I'm inviting certain chaos into my life.

I happen to believe my God is bigger than the rules of Murphy's Law.

What does this have to do with one of the longest tenured attractions at the Happiest Place On Earth?

Fasten your seatbelt.

When you're in a place where you have your faith and trust firmly planted in God, you're filled with a sense that there isn't much you can do that can completely screw things up. While traversing the road track on Autopia, your vehicle's wheels straddle a narrow railing. There is no dispute that you are, in fact, driving and steering the little vehicle. However, no matter what you do, it's impossible to take your car off the path and take it joyriding through the Magic Kingdom and beyond.

Using this as an object lesson, I have a certain degree of responsibility in the maneuvering of my life. I mean, we do have free will. Unlike Autopia, God doesn't force us to do anything. However, if we truly have surrendered our lives and trust Him, our nature is less our own, and more His. This does not require some unfathomable uberspiritual status exclusive to those whose faces are carved into the Mount Rushmore of Christianity. Instead, an everyday schmo like me can come to the place where we simply say, "I'm totally at the end of myself." When we get there and we surrender ourselves to God's way, we're on rails.

I'm pretty much there. It's a place where, if I didn't know of God's intense love for, and devotion to me, I might find myself sticking the barrel of a gun in my mouth, or trying to find some kind of escape through substance abuse.

Instead, these thoughts are completely foreign. The furthest things from my mind. Instead of despair, I'm filled with expectancy. As I continue to pursue a closer relationship with God, as I continue to put myself in a place where I can receive from Him, I am confident that even if I oversteer, I can't completely jump the rail and end up going the wrong way. I don't know what is around the bend, but I know that God is there. God is also good. Therefore, good things lie ahead. There will likely be difficulties along the way, but my course is set, and I know I'll get there.