Rats!

Ratatouille is an awesome Pixar movie, and possibly one of the hardest words in the world to spell.  The movie follows the story of a rat named Remy whose only dream is to become a top notch chef in the restaurant world of Paris.  I don't know about you, but rat and chef just don't go together.  The thing about Remy was that he was actually an excellent cook.  He didn't settle with the slimy, sewer diet that most rats sustain.  He wanted something more.  Something delicious.  Something delectable.  But a rat becoming a chef is a preposterous thought.  Or is it?  All Remy needed was a chance, and when it came, he succeeded and became he had dreamed of.

Sometimes in life, we are Remy.  Other times, we're the ones not giving Remy a chance.  Appearance is the first thing we as humans see.  It's not always easy to look past it, especially when we're looking at a 'rat that wants to be a chef.'  But to truly know someone, we must see as the Lord sees because "the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7).  Our Lord and Savior sees us as we really are.  He sees our heart.  May we strive to be more like Christ by giving others a chance and casting out unrighteous judgments.  It is then that we will be able see the kind of chef that Remy can become.

Vroom Vroom

"Ka-chow, Ka-chow!"  Lightning McQueen boastfully celebrates his win at the beginning of the movie Cars.  He's caught up in his victory dance, that is if a car can dance, and doesn't realize what the next hour and a half (human time) will hold.  He sure is in for a reality check though.  There are a ton of great parts in this movie, but there is one scene that I'd like to focus on. 

In this scene, Doc Hudson AKA The Hudson Hornet, is trying to give Lightning McQueen some racing advice.  Doc says, "I'll put it simple: if you're going hard enough left, you'll find yourself turning right."  In a very sarcastic tone, McQueen responds with, "Oh, right.  That makes perfect sense.  Turn right to go left."  He throws Doc's advice to the curb without even considering it.  Why?  Because in McQueen's eyes, it doesn't make sense.

Many times we are like Lightning McQueen.  When we seek for advice, specifically through prayer, we may not always get the answer that we're expecting.  We'll often times get an answer that makes no sense to us.  Turn left to go right?  How will that ever work out?  1 Corinthians 1:25 says, "...the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men."

It all comes down to faith.  Do we have faith enough that if we turn left we will go right?  Will we listen to the answer we receive even if it makes no sense to us?  We must remember that God has created every track that we'll race on in this life.  He knows every bump, divet, and curve.  When we heed to the master's advice, we will find that we're not only happier, but we're winning the race as well.  Remember that God loves us and will never lead us astray.

You've Got a Friend in Me

I've always enjoyed Pixar movies.  Somehow they're all really really good.  Especially the Toy Story series.  Man, what a well made series.  The theme song, You've Got a Friend in Me, has been stuck in my head the past couple of days.  It's gotten me thinking about what a friend is.  I used to qualify a friend as someone I'd hang out with on a regular basis.  That's a friend right?  Eh...not quite.  As I thought more about it, I realized a friend is much more than that.  A friend is someone that you can trust, someone you can look up to, someone that sincerely cares about you. 

I was reading in John chapter 15 and Christ talks about us being his friends.  However, we're not automatically qualified to be his friend.  John 15: 14 reads, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."  I can't think of a better friend to have the Christ himself.  He will always be our friend, but we can be his if we do as he commands.  How cool is that! 

As the theme song of Toy Story goes:

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
and you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed
Just remember what your old pal said
Yeah, you've got a friend in me

Christ is and will always be our best friend.  May we strive to be the friend that he would have us be.  As we continue to live his teachings and follow his example, we can be that friend.  And when the road looks rough ahead, we can turn to him.