by RTF Assistant Editor Halee Matthews

I have a new friend. We’re in the early stages of friendship, just getting to know one another, but she seems pretty cool so far. She’s easy-going and fun to be around. She listens to everything I say. She always wants to do whatever I want to do. She even looks a little like me.

But that’s probably because she’s my mii. (A mii is an avatar for Nintendo Wii, in case you were wondering.)

I bonded with my mii as soon as I began creating her. I chose her hair, her eyes, her nose. I made her exactly as I wanted, and then I released her into the Wii world to mingle with all the other miis.

Every time I play the Wii, I watch in fascination as my mii does exactly what I tell her to do. She swings and throws based solely on my movements.

She’s a compliant little mii, my ambassador to the Wii world. And she’s constantly smiling, even when she dives on her face to hit a tennis ball. She always tries her hardest, that mii. Sometimes her dedication inspires me.

One day as I was pondering my mii and our unique relationship, a surprising thought struck me: We are God’s miis.

He created us. He chose our hair, our eyes, our noses. He made us exactly as He wanted, and then He released us into this world to be His representatives.

But, unlike the Wii miis, we have a choice. What we do in this world is entirely up to us.

Some earthly miis completely disregard God’s directions and swing at the wrong time or bowl a gutterball. Some are so in tune with Him that they quickly respond to the slightest move of His hand.

So what about you?

Are you going to keep swinging and missing or will you dive on your face for God, smiling all the while?

It’s not easy, being a mii. But wholeheartedly following God’s direction ensures the most glorious victory we can imagine. (And it’ll be much better than just winning a baseball game!)