Enlarging my living space...

Today I discovered the wonder that is Shuffle. In the interim- waiting for my new audio book to arrive- I was cruising the town listening to my iPod. I couldn't decide what I felt like, so I decided to set it to Shuffle. What a wonderful world that was created! A place where No Doubt is followed by Martha and the Vandellas, which precedes Tori Amos, all leading up to Garth Brooks! Whew! Although I was jamming to all of them, it was the Garth Brooks song that perked my ears (and neurons) on this particular day.

I haven't listened to Garth in years, so when the song came on, I reached to turn it to the next song, but stopped. Sometimes it's nice to relive the eighth grade. The title of the song I heard is Unanswered Prayers, and as I sang along, I started to feel the words turning into molasses in my mouth. They didn't want to come out at the same time that they flowed. The song, for those of you who aren't cowboys, is about him thanking God that not all of his prayers were answered because what we wish for in youth is often not as good as what we really end up with. True. Very true. However, the whole thought behind the song irked me. The line, "And if He'd only grant me this wish I wished back then, I'd never ask for anything again," summed up my thoughts perfectly. Because this is what people have done to God.

People have taken this energy that is so great, immense beyond all measure, and pressed and squeezed it into this small, manageable, somewhat more understandable, being, slapped a human face on it and stuffed him into a safe place where he can only come out when called upon. It brought to mind another of my innumerable favorite movies, Disney's version of Aladdin. Although perhaps not consciously, God is treated as this genie that we talk to to make wishes. We pray that we will get the boyfriend we want or the job we want. We pray for more money, greater opportunities, better health, an easier life. But all of these wishes are based on fear. We are afraid that we can't survive on less. We do not put our trust in God to get us through a difficult life. In essence that is what we are saying when we ask God to change our circumstances. We are saying, "I don't trust that you have provided me with all that I need." "I think you are wrong." "I need more."

This is the dangerous side of the American way. America was built on the ideal of constantly wanting more out of life. But what if we changed it? What if our ideal shifted to being happy with what we have? Whether we're living in the Hollywood Hills or homeless on the street, the picture of health or dying from cancer. Of course, there will always be change. But does there have to be more? Does it have to be bigger? Must it continue to get better? What if our relationship with God resembled less of us rubbing on a genie's lamp and more of us reveling in the beauty of His immense power? Otherwise, it's just like Aladdin said, "Phenomenal cosmic powers. Itty bitty living space."


Another way I love that people have taken the power away from God is by taking his land and staking claim to it. You cannot find a field or a stream to just have a picnic on or go for a swim in anymore. Everything is Unauthorized and Prohibited. It's God's green Earth for crying out loud, we should all be able to enjoy it instead of each being stuck on our own individual tiny plots of land. No wonder we can't relate to each other or the environment.