Stillness

"Be still, and know that I am God." ~Psalm 46:10a

"The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still." ~Exodus 14:14


What a full month it has been! I certainly feel like I hit the ground running as the new year came into focus. Three major events have already happened this year, and each of them requires its due highlight. God has proved Himself good and faithful through all three, which includes rehearsing for the Castle Show, getting new roommates, and becoming a girlfriend. :D

First, rehearsals for the Dream Along with Mickey show, which runs on the Castle Stage in front of Cinderella's Castle in Magic Kingdom (aka, the Castle Show) were in full swing from January 5th through January 21st. It has been a dream of mine to perform on that stage ever since I worked for Disney, which is now over four years ago. That dream came true this month!

It was a singularly difficult rehearsal process for me though. I was learning to be friends with Minnie, and I've mostly helped Mickey or Stitch the last three years, so being friends with a girl was rather challenging at first. I kept forgetting to bevel, or I'd be so overcome with the excitement that I could flex my wrists and swish my skirt that I'd get notes to calm down. In fact, since the technology is a key factor in acting on the stage with the VIPs, I kept getting the notes to "relax. Calm down. Don't work so hard." The technology would help me act; I didn't need to animate on top of that. Great. Tell that to a high-energy animator who was told she performs like she's on Red Bull.

After one run, one of the show specialists came up to me and said, "Megan, your word is stillness." I was still getting notes that I was animating too much, and it was looking unfocused, basically. Oh. It hit me then that I do not stay still very well.. or at all. My life is such that I animate and move by nature of being me. To be still. To simply be and to breathe are wonderfully foreign concepts to me, but I discovered that in order to get approved in the show, I needed to practice the discipline of stillness. Too, in my personal life with stressing over roommates and finances and everything, it seemed wonderful to just "be still." The two verses that began this post came to mind, and I am now committing to practicing stillness this year.

Well, I barely got approved, since I was so excited, still, to be learning Castle Show, that on my approval run, I rushed the opening numbers, but hopefully with time I will be able to relax more into my role once the initial excitement wears off. :) It was humbling to be given, in essence, a D- after my runs in the show. I got approved, but barely. Still learning stillness!

Concerning roommates: Amidst rehearsals, I was preparing to have my two old roommates move out and two new ones move in. I was ready for weeks for the old ones to actually move out, as the pain of betrayal was still fresh, and added to that was the shock of seeing all the moving boxes everywhere and artwork, dishes, etc. that had been just a part of the house were being boxed up and going with my roommates who owned them personally. We pretty much weren't talking to each other at this point, either. I had found one roommate to move in on the 20th, which is when the old ones moved out. She has proven to be such a wonderful roommate and Godsend! :D

I still had not found another roommate, however. I took Exodus 14:14 to heart and knew that the Lord would help me find a roommate, rather than me putting up flyers or going onto Craigslist to find one. At the point where I was getting bitter at my old roommates for putting me into such a fix at finding two roommates at once, my new roommate texted me, saying her friend needed a place to stay. God answers prayer! :D I met her and there was an immediate connection. She is moving in tomorrow, and she even has a dog, which has been another dream of mine for quite a while now! I have no stress now with roommates; they are both clean, responsible, and friendly, and together, we share a house full of love, peace, and joy. :D

Now to the most exciting news. Yes, I have a boyfriend. His name is Joe. We met at Star Wars Weekends, and a mutual friend played matchhmaker. He agreed to build a foundation of friendship before we tried to start any relationship, so for the past few months, we've "dated for friendship." He has proven to be so thoughtful, considerate, patient, and respectful. The one and only thing was that he did not have a personal relationship with Christ, which is paramount to me for any deep relationship I have. So he started going to church with me. He'd even go when I couldn't go. He started reading the Bible on his iPhone, getting stuck in Leviticus and texting me, "When does Jesus come in?"

I have never experienced somebody go from not knowing much about a relationship with Jesus to falling in love with Him. Words cannot describe how intensely sweet is that joy! On the 23rd, we went to church together and hung out all day. That night, Joe asked me to be his girlfriend. I replied, "You know that I won't until you have a personal relationship with Jesus."
"Oh, didn't you know? I prayed with the pastor after the service today and asked Jesus into my life."
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D I could not come up with any reasonable arguments against us being together then, and so I said yes. :D

Seven years ago, I experienced stupid men, and I decided to distrust the world of men. God has since healed me of much of that pain. I remember crying out to God and begging him for two things: one, to take away my physical body so that I could join Him in Heaven right then and there, and two, to make me a nun.
For the first part, God said, "No. I want you to be My hands and feet on earth, and I have a plan and purpose for your life, and you need a physical body in order to complete that for which I have sent you to do."
For the second part, God said, "No. That is the easy way out for you, and My way is infinitely more difficult, but infinitely better."
Isn't our God amazing when He tells us 'No'? :D

Thank you for reading my update; I look forward to hearing about any updates that you might have in your life! I also hope and pray that God blesses you richly today and in the coming year! <3

I love you with my life!