The Snoodles In My Life

by Michelle Welch

Matthew 19:26 “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

My name is Michelle and I am addicted to Veggie Tales. There. I said it. For those of you who are stepping into the middle years, perhaps an empty nester, it is highly unlikely that you have ever watched a Veggie Tales movie. Let me say that you just don’t know what you are missing. These delightful children’s movies are refreshingly funny with a moral message. The writers take movies and stories such as Pinocchio, It’s A Wonderful Life, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Noah’s Ark, The Princess and the Pea and rewrite them in a fantastic biblical way using singing vegetables as the characters. (who knew a tomato and a cucumber could make a story come to life)

Accompanied by sweet baby Lyric, I listened to 40 hours of Veggie Tales on the trip to NC.  At first, I turned the radio up in the front, letting her video player keep her occupied in the back seat. (Please, no letters about video players being a baby sitter in the car. She is 1 for crying out loud. How else am I supposed to amuse her on a 40 hour drive) Gradually I found myself turning down the radio so I could hear the stories she was watching. I became engrossed in them as the miles flew by. Sweet baby Lyric laughed and danced in her car seat, babbling away to the silly songs. I found my mood lifted, peace filling my heart, and a smile on my face.

One of my immediate favorites is called A Snoodle’s Tale. It is my life in a cartoon. (Kind of ironic but that’s another blog!) It’s the story of a little snoodle who comes to earth but can’t seem to find his purpose. He has three unique and special gifts but he is teased, bullied and ridiculed for everything he does, says, plans, or dreams. He leaves home to find his way, weighed down by the negative pictures he carries of himself. He is firmly convinced he can’t accomplish anything and that he has no special gifts. You will have to get the video to find out the ending but I can tell you that it will make you smile and feel so yummy inside. (Purchase the video from Amazon or Lifeway stores, while your at it, get a few others!)

Isn’t it just like us to only hear the bad things people say about us? To carry with us every negative thing we have ever thought people think about us? Some of which are most assuredly not true? Why do we believe people when they tell us our gifts are wrong, that we don’t deserve the gift, that  we should have our gift taken away? Scripture tells us that “every good and perfect gift is from above” James 1:17

For most of my life I have let the world tell me that I couldn’t, I can’t, I shouldn’t, I will never. I was not smart enough or worthy enough or good enough or pretty enough or able enough. I let those negative pictures of myself become the billboards in my life, blocking out the beauty of the life that God had prepared for me.

Romans 11:29 tells us that “God’s gifts and His call can never be withdrawn.” Do you hear that sweet friend? No one and I mean NO ONE can take away the gift that God has for you. No matter what they say, what they do, what circumstances you find yourself in, the gift and calling God has placed upon you are yours forever and ever into eternity.  No matter the sin, no matter the age, no matter the reason you come up with, God always has your gift and your calling sitting right there at His feet. Now the question is…..are there snoodles in your life keeping you from claiming your gift?