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from Cossondra I was blessed this past week to have my grandson stay with me. He is a joy, full of laughter and curiosity. We enjoyed good weather and played outside a lot of the time, but when we were inside, he usually wanted to be watching his favorite movie, Pixar Animation's Cars. It's a good movie with an exciting plot, witty humor, and actual life lessons, so I'm glad to watch it with him. This week, though, I felt as if I was immersed in it. I can sing the songs. I can quote lines. I can identify most of the voice actors. But after a week, I even started seeeeeing the Cars characters. Taking my grandson home involves traveling several hours along an interstate highway. Things on my post-Cars adventure started quickly, and I began to see Cars characters on the roads around us. First, there were simple things like cars the same bright blue color as Mr. The King. Then, I spotted RVs like those in the infield of the Cars races. I saw Minnie and Van, Sarge, Sally, and even Fillmore, the hippie van! But what really caught my attention was a car riding atop an auto carrier in the lane next to us. Its headrests stuck up through the windshield like eyes over a smiling grill. That was my brain's own creation of a character, and it was too much. I shook my head and tried to avoid seeing Cars characters in real cars, but I couldn't get them out of my mind. My brain had focused on the movie so often during the past week that it was seeking out the shapes and colors. They were more noticeable than ever because my focus was there — in the movie. That's what immersed means, being intensely focused or involved in something. When I taught my high school students Shakespearean plays, I spent most of the day reading aloud. During these weeks, I would find myself thinking in verse and using some of his terms in my thoughts. I was immersed in a version of our language that was out of the ordinary. When I am trying to eat healthy, I see my favorite food everywhere, and every commercial seems to be about fast-food restaurants. People bring cookies to work, and the kids down the street sell Krispy Kreme doughnuts. None of these things would seem out of the ordinary during any other period of time, but during diet season, they flash neon. There is probably a term for this, but you would have to ask Joanna. Whatever the phrase, these experiences show me that I need to be careful of what I take in through my eyes and ears. If I surround myself with stress and sin, it will infiltrate me more than I realize. However, if I fill my mind with things of God, I can expect to experience more of that in my life. Being immersed in God's presence provides fuel for our lives and for our souls. And, when that happens, Ka-Chow! We are on the right track!
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