You Are Here

By Jodi Whisenhunt –

A woman approached a Cast Member at Walt Disney World’s Epcot with a map of Seaworld. (You see where this is going, don’t you?) She happened to be standing just under the monorail there and asked where to get on it to get to, yes, Epcot.

The Cast Member was tempted to tell the woman to close her eyes, click her heels three times and say, “There’s no place like Epcot,” and POOF she would be there, but instead she chose to replace the woman’s map, turn her around and let her know, “You are here.”

I get the feeling the visitor likely thanked her host profusely and was relieved she didn’t have to walk much further. I have been to Walt Disney World many times, and my feet sing praise and hallelujah when I let them take a break! It’s been estimated that Park Guests walk an average of 8 to 10 miles per day, per Park, and there are four separate Parks on the property. With Epcot’s World Showcase being more than a mile long itself, I’m thinking that’s a low estimate. Walt Disney World is called The Most Magical Place on Earth. As wonderful as it is, though, by the end of a week’s stay, it can become The Most Exhausting Place on Earth. Perhaps this woman was hoping the monorail meandered throughout Epcot. Now there’s a suggestion I should pitch to Disney!

Have you ever stood right in the middle of God’s will yet not recognized you were at your destination? Where the settings were right but looked all wrong? Or have you ever arrived at a station in life, worn and weary from the journey, holding a map to a different destiny? Have you ever asked God for direction only to hear Him say, “You are here”?

It’s times like those when we find we do not have as much control over this life as we thought we had. It’s times like those when we learn our best laid plans can still be trumped by God’s Master Plan. It’s times like those when we realize the Lord ordains each step we take, and He has “plans to prosper [us] and not to harm [us], plans to give [us] hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

I read of a man who was gravely ill and hospitalized. In extreme pain he beckoned the nurse to his side. She checked his vitals, adjusted tubes, fluffed his pillow, and said, “I bet you wish you were somewhere else.”

He replied, “No, not at all.”

The nurse thought surely the man’s mind had failed and reached to page the psych ward when the patient explained, “If this is where God wants me, then here I should remain.”

Next time you think you may be off the grid, stop and pray the Lord will “Direct [you] in the path of [His] command, for there [you will] find delight” (Psalm 119:35). Then open your eyes to see you are right where God wants you: You are here.

Learning New Ways to Listen

By Jodi Whisenhunt –

I guess I got too good at tuning things out, so God turned off my left ear. I’m hoping it’s temporary, but for the last three months my hearing has been lopsided.

I’ve had concerns for quite some time actually. My ears just don’t work as well as they used to. Often I need to lean in, tilt my head and squint my eyes—yes, that helps—when someone speaks to me. And even then, sometimes I receive the wrong words. Why, not long ago, my husband was conversing with a friend about taking a two-week trip on tandems (bicycles). I heard, “We’ll be traveling twelve days on camels.” Yeah, that’s a little different!

Reduced hearing is hereditary on my father’s side of the family. I remember a time my family visited Niagara Falls with my grandparents. We had spent the day on the Canadian side of the Falls, where my stepmom had purchased candlesticks. Well, Grandpa, whose ears had long before been turned off, was really nervous about crossing back into the States, because he didn’t want to check those gifts through customs. When he stopped the car at the gate, he expected the guard to ask about our purchases. But the guard instead asked, “Did you enjoy your time in Canada?” Grandpa quickly answered, “Oh, just a little candy!” Fortunately for us, the officer had a sense of humor.

So what happened to my ears? Well, to be completely honest, I lived life my way. I made some decisions I thought were alright with God, despite the fact I never truly had peace about them. I marched forward anyway thinking it was an opportunity of a lifetime. I thought surely since the door had been opened I was meant to walk through.

But not all open doors are held by the hand of God.

I’m not saying God physically punished me for disobedience, although He is capable of such things. He did, however, allow certain consequences to occur in response to my lack of faithfulness.

So I am learning new ways to listen:
1) I am attentive to God’s voice. I make conscious effort to hear Him speak. And He almost never shouts.
2) I request discernment. I want to hear His voice and none other. The voice of truth, not of deceit.
3) I get Satan behind me. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7, NIV). Satan is “a stumbling block to me,” so with Jesus’ help I send him away (Matthew 16:23, NIV).
4) I get myself behind me. Personal pride just trips me up. “…not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42, NIV).
5) I obey. I repent and ask forgiveness and then I DO. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22, NKJV).

When it comes to hearing the Lord’s instruction, jumbled reception is not a laughing matter. Romans 10:17 (NKJV) tells us how it works: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

My ear will heal, be it now or when I get home to heaven. In the meantime, I will listen intently.

The Untrodden Path

By Jodi Whisenhunt –

A little cat and his friend Dog set out on an adventure. To and fro and here and there they went about exploring. They marveled at the nooks and crooks and creeks and streams of the forest and the wood. Then roundabout a tree they paused as Dog exclaimed, “Footprints!” On close exam the two agreed the steps would lead them north.

So north the two friends trekked following the tracks. A curve ahead and to the right. Again a curve and right. “Egads!” shrieked Dog. Now on the path where had been one were marked two paw prints more.

North again walked the two friends. Again a curve and right. Once more a curve and right. “Gasp! My-my!” said the little cat, for instead of three trails, they found five.

Yes, north again, a curve and to the right. Round and round and round they went til more tracks were found than they could count. No ground was gained as on they walked and tired they became.

Upon the ground the two friends sat to rest and ponder plans. “Say,” said the cat to his friend Dog, “those tracks look much like mine.”

“And mine beside,” replied the dog, much to her surprise.

The tale turns, when following one’s own footsteps one neither leads nor follows, as the little cat and his friend Dog discovered on their quest.

So the little cat and his friend Dog left the beaten path. South this time and to the left where few before had trod. A happy end to this close draws: They walked the straight and narrow and were lost no more, but found.

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:21).

Loose Connection

By Jodi Whisenhunt –

My daughter’s television pixilates. Turn it on to watch a show, and every few minutes the action stops. Like a game of Red Light-Green Light, actors freeze in odd poses. Their faces blur. Sometimes the audio continues, giving the frozen frames a storyboard effect. So, naturally, we worked that into a homeschool lesson on the art of animation.

Despite its educational value, interrupted programming is annoying and hard on the eyes. My husband tried troubleshooting. He replaced the cable. No difference. He traded boxes from another room. No difference. He reset the entire system multiple times. No difference. When all else failed, he called for help.

The cable guy was scheduled to arrive between 8:00 AM and noon. You know what that means—he arrived at 11:59 with a few seconds to spare. He proceeded to do all the things we had already done. No difference. He then checked the main connection upstairs. It was so loose the cable detached when he touched it! He tightened some wires, and voila! Big difference.

All that for a loose connection.

Sometimes life gets pixilated. I go along my merry way when suddenly my forward progress halts. Images become unrecognizable. The continuous audio is the chatter in my head, the noise of me making my own plans.

I troubleshoot. Did I skip something on my schedule? No difference. Did I neglect to pay a bill? No difference. Did I leave the iron on when I left the house? No difference. Time to reset the system and call for help.

In John chapter 15, Jesus gave an illustration regarding the importance of staying connected to Him. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15: 5). When we disconnect from Christ, our lives pixilate and our signals scramble, much like a faulty TV. The scene gets fuzzy, and despite our own best efforts, nothing makes it any better. Clarity is not restored until we reconnect to the Source.

Don’t miss the educational value of the pixilation. Go to the Man Upstairs and tighten your loose connection.

Jodi Whisenhunt is an Amy Award winning freelance writer and Senior Content Editor of The Christian Pulse. Find her editing services at www.jodiwhisenhunt.com, and let her show you how Disney IS school at www.magicalmouseschoolhouse.com.

The Right Fit

By Jodi Whisenhunt –

In seventh grade, Kaepa tennis shoes were all the rage at my junior high school. With their unique dual lace design, you could mix and match shoelace colors to coordinate your outfit or show school spirit. They were great for 1980s fashion.

Kaepas came in an affordable canvas style, but the cool kids wouldn’t be caught dead in those. No, to be cool, you had to have the much pricier leather ones. Well, my family didn’t have a money tree in our backyard, and my mom was a struggling, single parent at the time, so no matter how much I begged, she just couldn’t say yes to such an expense…until one day at JC Penney.

Mom and I had gone shopping. As we strode past the shoe department, I noticed a big red SALE sign by the most awesome shoes in the whole mall: the leather Kaepas. “The shoes! Mom! The shoes! Please, please, please!”

She said, “OK.” Yes!

I grabbed the nearest salesperson and asked for a size 7. He brought out a 6-1/2, the last box in the store. I didn’t hang my head in surrender, though. I squeezed my feet in, loosened each lace, and strutted across to the mirror to admire the glorious prize. I was on the verge of coolness. They fit perfectly—not.

The shoes were snug, but I was afraid that if we left the store without them, my mom would never again agree to buy them. So I lied. I said they fit great, that they were the most comfortable shoes I’d ever owned. Mom knew they were too small, but I wouldn’t take them off. I wore them every day for the rest of the school year.

I was cool. Or at least my shoes were cool. But how much better would I have felt—both physically and emotionally—if I had trusted my mom? If I had listened to her assurance that we’d get a better fitting pair at another store? If I would have waited for the right thing?

I must confess I still struggle with trusting and waiting. The issues don’t necessarily concern shoes anymore–well, maybe sometimes—but often important life decisions tempt me to jump into situations that might not be the right fit. In those times, I end up somewhere snug and uncomfortable. However, if I trust my heavenly parent, God the Father, and heed His gentle assurance, His provision will always suit my need.

Jodi Whisenhunt is an Amy Award-winning freelance writer and editor who would really like to have a size 8 vintage leather pair of split-lace Kaepas, circa 1983. You can find her at www.jodiwhisenhunt.com or at www.magicalmouseschoolhouse.com, where Disney IS school.

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