Shrunk, stretched and scratched!

Still harping on the Alice in Wonderland theme…

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At one point in Alice's journey when she consulted with Absolom, the Blue Caterpillar, about which way she should go, he answered her sharply saying,

“I can’t help you if you don’t even know who you are,

 stupid girl.”

Ok, so that was a little harsh but there was truth in what he said.  You cannot know where you are going until you know who you are. 

It is most important on this journey of life to establish who we are; perhaps even more important, is to know where we derive our sense of self from.  If we don’t, we run the risk of falling prey to the pressure of other people’s standards and hopes for us rather than charting our own course.

This is definitely a process, one that we must keep revisiting throughout our life.   Every different stage of life presents new challenges and new temptations to let outside influences define who we are, how we feel about ourselves, and where we are going. 

It is usually when we are completely fed up with trying to measure up to the world’s standards or the opinions of others (no matter how well-meaning they are) that we really dig in to find out who we are and where we should be going.

I love how Alice expressed herself in the movie when she finally reached her breaking point.  She said, exasperated:

“From the moment I fell down that rabbit hole I've been told where I must go and who I must be. I've been shrunk, stretched, scratched, and stuffed into a teapot. I've been accused of being Alice and of not being Alice but this is *my* dream. *I'll* decide where it goes from here.”

Oh my goodness!  Can anyone relate?? I have felt exactly that way before with the possible exception of being stuffed in a teapot, although I’ve definitely felt like that too!

Alice finally decided that she was her father’s daughter and she was going to let that be her guide. She was going to begin following her own instincts.

This is something I have recently really come to embrace.  The fact that, because I have the spirit of God living inside me, I can depend on Him to guide my every decision and not stress out about whether or not I am veering off the "right" path. Here are a few verses that I rely on. 

Acts 17:28 says (and I love this…)

“In Him we live and move and have our being.” 

That pretty much sums it up.  That is where we live and how we move...IN HIM.  If you know that...if you really know that, and base your decisions on that reality ~ it will guide your every move.  

And one final promise to tuck deep inside your heart ~ Isaiah 30:21

"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

So trust His voice and get on with your journey!! The best is yet to come.