If you are familiar with the Gospel Blog you may remember that I have the opportunity to work with kids with various disabilities, and this column is to share the lessons I have learned from those kids.

One kid I work with—let’s just call him Andy—has a Woody doll from the children’s movie Toy Story. If you know the Woody character, then you know he has a cowboy hat, boots, and a pull string on his back. 

This particular doll did not have a removable cowboy hat, just one that was a part of the mold of Woody’s head. 

One day, I was working with Andy, and he was trying to take Woody’s hat off. In fact, he was so preoccupied with getting the hat off, it was making it impossible for me to work with him. 

I tried telling him that the hat did not come off, but that was not good enough. So he started working on biting the hat off. He was making good progress, but I was afraid he was going to break some teeth. 

So, doing what any good church-going person would do, I offered to cut Woody’s hat off. Andy liked this idea and agreed. I warned him that the hat would not go back on and that Woody would have a big hole in his head if I did so. That did not persuade him to want to leave the hat alone.

I cut the hat off and handed Andy the hat and the doll. He immediately tried to put the hat back on Woody. 

Surprise! The hat did not go back on, and Andy was mad!

The lesson I learned: 

Sometimes what we want is not what we really need, or even what we really want. But we want it so badly that we are willing to ignore the good advice of those around us, or (even worse) we ignore the good counsel of the Lord. 

And sometimes those poor choices we make leave us wishing we had listened in the first place, and sometimes they leave scars. 

Unfortunately for Woody, he was left with a window into his head and a hat that doesn’t go on. Fortunately for you, we serve a loving and forgiving God that will give you another chance to follow His lead, even with the scars of our errors proclaiming our rebellion.

Today, let’s resolve to seek and listen to the counsel of the godly people around us, and let’s resolve to seek and listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

“I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save He shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” (1 Nephi 3:7)

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.

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