False Alarms....

I never thought I would say this, but....Thank you, David Bowie.  Thank you for showing me the truth about how evil has no power over good, even when we think it does. Thank you for reminding me that when I am on the right path, things and people will try and distract me and keep me from moving in the right direction.  Thank you for showing me how attractive bad things can seem to us sometimes....even if those bad things are super hot...and wearing pants so tight they would make a Urologist blush. 

What the heck am I talking about, you ask?!  I'm talking about the movie The Labyrinth.  If you've never seen it, watch it as soon as possible.  Seriously, go home early from work.  Claim H1N1, explosive diarrhea, typhoid fever, leprosy, whatever it takes....and watch the heck out of this movie.  It's. that. good.

So, I got home from work the other day and decided to take a break from all of the responsible grown up stuff I am usually doing to get on Facebook (eye roll). I decided I wanted to change my status update, but I wanted to find something that really fit my current feelings/situation.  I won't reveal my secret to always finding some clever quote or movie line, but I will say it rhymes with Smoogle.  Anywho, for some unknown reason I Smoogle The Labyrinth.  I hadn't seen this movie since I was a kid and watched it with my BFF Harmony.  I have no clue why it came to mind at that moment, but I Smoogled it none-the-less.  I searched to find the perfect movie quote to fit my situation...and low and behold...I found it!  God lead me right to it....isn't He amazing:

"Ah,don't pay any attention to them. They're just False Alarms. You get a lot of them in the Labyrinth, especially when you're on the right track." -Hoggle

Read it again.  Think on it. Soak it up. Overwhelmed with realization, yet? Ok, you may proceed....

After I read this, I was so in shock about how very true it was...in my current situation and otherwise.  So, I Netflixed that bad boy and watched it on my computer right then and there.  Any movie produced by George Lucas, with Jim Henson's puppets, Jennifer Connelly's eyebrows, and David Bowie being sexy times ten is the movie for me.  Oh and I suppose the message of the movie is important too.  I didn't expect it to make such a profound impact on my life.  I mean, David Bowie's tight pants would make an impact on anybodies life, but once you get past that....there really is an awesome message. (Okay, I have officially reached my "David Bowie's Tight Pants" statement quota...from here on out, I'll keep it strictly business.)

I love David Bowie's Tight Pants.

OOooops!

I guess I'll have to extend the quota.

Anyway, back to the life changing message of this movie.

Many times in life, we find ourselves at a crossroads.  We know that from this point, no matter what we do, our lives are going to change in some capacity.  We can choose to go straight, left, right, stay where we are, or...go back the way we came.  Finding ourselves in this position can be very stressful and scary, but without change, we would still be burbling babies depending on others for every facet of our lives.  Doesn't it seem like just as you are about to get comfortable...you find yourself at yet another crossroads? What's UP with that!?

Ok.....Picture yourself standing at a crossroads.

You look to the left and you see a nice quiet suburban street.  There are big houses that all look the same.  There are nice cars in the driveways.  You don't see any kids playing outside or people out on their porches...you think to yourself, "Hmm, maybe everyone is lost in their big houses and can't find their way out."

You look to the right and you see this busy city street.  Horns honking, tall buildings with lots of lights, people everywhere.  You can smell the hot pretzels from the vendor on the corner.  It looks busy, but exciting!

You look behind you and see your old bedroom from when you were a kid.  You see your teddy bear, your toys, your bed..your Nintendo (heck yeah!).  It all looks so comfortable.  You wish you could climb in your bed, but you don't fit anymore...it's too small.  You can smell your mom's cooking wafting in from the kitchen.

Then you look at your feet where you are standing.  You realize that you have been standing for awhile and that you are starting to get tired and your legs are getting stiff.  You can't sit down because the road is too dirty, and you can't keep standing in one spot because your legs are tired.

Then you look at the road straight ahead.  It's more of a trail, actually.  It's hard to tell where the trail even begins because it is so grown over with trees and such.  It looks like the trail goes up a hill and zigs and zags left and right.  You think to yourself, "Dude...that's looks hard.  If I take this road...I mean trail..., how will I know where I'm going, what if I get lost, what if it's...gulp...dangerous??"  Then you look down to find that you have hiking boots on, a backpack full of food, a map, and flashlight.  It's almost as if you have been prepared to take this road the whole time.  Hiking boots would look silly in the big city or in the quiet neighborhood.  You decide that you now know what you must do.  As you move closer to the entrance to the trail, you see a sign marked "The Road Less Traveled".  Now you understand why it is so overgrown...because not many people head that direction. It's less developed.  It's less tame.  It's less predictable.  You take the first step into the unknown.  You feel scared.  You feel like you're not ready.  You feel like you aren't going to be able to hack it in the wilderness.  But something bigger than you...something that lives in your heart...tells you to move forward and that you will be protected.

So you go.

I'm gonna be honest with you...you guys are smart so I am sure you already know this...but, we are given this opportunity all the time in life.  Every day.  And you know what...we are supposed to always keep our eyes peeled for the sign that says, "Road Less Traveled"...and then go that way.  I'm sorry if that ruined your day, but it's true.  Sometimes you will find yourself alone on this journey, but many times you will find other imperfect adventurers to travel alongside you.

Do you want to know why this "Road Less Traveled" is less...um...traveled?  It's because it's flippin' HARD.  There are going to be things that come up along this road that try and scare you away from your final destination.  Our lives are a labyrinth.  We live in a labyrinth.  We are constantly having to choose which way to go.  We can see our goal in the distance, and we find ourselves frustrated because either our decisions take us farther away from where we want and need to be, or things pop up that confuse us and make us doubt ourselves.  We go the wrong way sometimes even with the very best of intentions...such is life, ya'll.  All you can do is your best. 

If God has told you which direction to go...go that direction no matter what pops up to derail you.  In fact, that is usually how you can tell you are on the right track.  The Road Less Traveled is booby-trapped the closer you get to where you need to go.  Just like in the Labyrinth...Jareth (David Bowie's character) is the Goblin King (aka..the bad guy) and he wants Sarah (Jennifer Connelly and her eyebrows) to be with him.  She says out loud one night that she wishes the King of the Goblins would take her crying baby brother away because she is annoyed...AND she thinks that he is just a fictional character in her favorite book.  Never in a million years would she ever have imagined that he was not only real, but that he could hear her, and would do as she requested.  He took her baby brother, and told her that he did as she asked because he loved her.  She demanded her baby brother back, but Jareth promised her that if she made it through the labyrinth he would give her brother back.  Jareth wanted nothing more than to be able to take from Sarah what she loved, even though she thought she didn't care, and make her forget that it ever happened.  He wanted her to go back to her room and play with her toys instead of take on the huge task of winning her annoying baby brother back.

It's just like with us.  The Devil would love for us to think he isn't real and is just some character in a story book.  (Check out C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters...amazing book.)  I am sure that some of you think I'm a super freak weirdo for believing in the Devil, but all I have to do is look around me...and at me...to know that there is evil at work.  I guess this is a part of taking the Road Less Traveled...you have to say things to people and they might think you are crazy.  But,  I don't take it lightly.  I know that I am being watched...even hunted.  I am constantly seeing that little red dot of the scope on me.  I am in the cross-hairs.  I would rather look like a freak and live, then believe the lie and die. 

The Devil is in the business of making false, attractive promises that only lead to emptiness and despair.  It may seem like you are getting what you want, but there is always a catch.  In the movie, the very attractive (have I mentioned that yet....David Bowie? The hotness!?) Jareth takes Sarah's baby brother because she asks him to in a moment of selfishness...and the consequence to her request is that she now has to fight to get back what she realized later matters most to her.  As you go down the Road Less Traveled, be aware that you are being hunted and watched. That is scary, I know....hard to believe...sure is.....but it's better to be aware than to not be prepared to fight to stay on your course.  The closer you get to God, the more you will be under attack.  Do I sound like a total nutcase!? I'm sure I do.  If you can't believe in a God that loves you and wants to save you, then I suppose it is hard to believe in a devil that would want to take your life and soul from you.  It all seems like a storybook, but I think all you have to do is take an honest look at your life and look deep into your heart to know that there is more than meets the eye to this world we are living in. Maybe...just maybe...the storybooks and movies are a more accurate portrayal of what's actually going on than what we can see with our eyes. 

BUT, here is the good news.  THE BEST NEWS, actually.  God is shouting this from the mountaintops, but we have to keep reminding ourselves this very very important truth.....Evil has NO POWER OVER US!!  Jesus kicked evil's sorry BUTT.  Done and done.  The devil belongs under our feet at all times.  And you are more than welcome to tell him that...sometimes he needs a reminder.

Just as Sarah says to Jareth, "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen, for my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great — You have no power over me."

I get chills just reading that. 

Our kingdom is greater.  Our will is greater.  Our hearts are greater.  Our GOD is greater.  Don't believe the lie. I would rather look crazy and sound weird and save myself, than to do what everybody else is doing and look cool while my soul shrivels up.  Ew.  So, if you would like a travel buddy on the Road Less Traveled...I'll be happy to join you.  Just know that I tend to get blisters, hate to pee in the woods, and complain when I'm cold, hot, hungry, full, tired....but...I have an excellent sense of direction.  I know where I am supposed to be headed.  : )  God is always there for us.  He will always always always provide a way out.  We are never stuck.  So...let's get going...you and me....let's go down the road and see what we see.

I hope we see David Bowie in tight pants! (OK, quota officially reached.)

LOVES,

Road Less Traveled Traveler