A Tale of Two Movies

A Tale of Two Movies

        The two cities were Washington DC and Paris (and other French towns).  The time frame for both movies was within a general period of the mid 1800’s. (“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”) There were some general themes that were similar: oppression of the poor, law and grace, the courage of those fighting against tyranny, freedom and God’s will.

       Both lead characters died for others and their cause. Both had Christ-like qualities.   Both lead characters were powerful examples. Both characters were and are totally unforgettable and, yes, extremely famous.

       One story was done in music and one in words. One was fiction and one was fact. Both of these stories were told in two and a half hour movies.  Two and a half hours of intensity and total absorption into the stories. Both offered lessons for life. You know I am talking about Les Miserables and Lincoln, two recent films and two of the best movies I have seen in a long time.  

      Though I read Les Miserables and saw two other stage versions and one film version of the story, I was totally enthralled. Though I have read at least 20 books about Lincoln and consider him to be a personal hero, I was overwhelmed with this movie.

      The “tear factor” is a gauge I use to determine how involved I am in a movie and how moved I am emotionally. Sometimes my “tear factor” gauge does not work, because a movie is just too sad for tears. However, it usually does work for my purposes.  I cried a little while watching Les Miserables, but there was no surprise since I had seen it before.  The music was totally moving, though.

       Now, Lincoln should not have brought even a tear to my eyes, because I knew the story, or so I thought. Since Team of Rivals has been on my night stand for over a year untouched and unread, I was totally, surprised and moved by the story. (Most of the ideas from the movie came from this book as I understand.) I just bawled.  The film was so realistic and well-done. The acting was superb as was nearly every aspect of the film. I cried mostly because it seemed to be such a realistic portrayal of this most humble, loving, courageous leader.

      Lincoln, the movie, like Lincoln, the man “belongs to the ages” as the Edwin Stanton said upon his death.  Let us not forget the gift that Lincoln was to our nation.  Let us not forget how really great he was. For his words, deeds and example, we should be grateful.

       Though I enjoyed both movies, there is no doubt in my mind which I liked better. Truth can truly be more powerful than fiction. In the case of Lincoln, joy was brought to me just realizing that someone like Lincoln really lived. (And, yes, I have already started reading Team of Rivals.) 

      

       

      

      

      

Snow

Snow

 

       I have always loved snow.  There is something so pure and good about it.  Some think that it symbolizes the dull, dreariness of winter, but I think it symbolizes a purging and cleansing to prepare the world for the new beginning of spring. It is like God is cleaning the slate to make a new beginning.  I do not think of the old that is erased, but the new that is coming. The layers of new fallen snow remind me of heavenly beauty and an upcoming fresh start.  Nothing is more pure than fresh clean falling snow. Nothing is more relaxing to observe. Snow represents lots of wonderful things to me.

       I can think of nothing more fun that playing in snow, building a fort or snowman, sledding, tubing, skiing, or making a snow angel. I remember ice skating outside and warming up by a fire.  I remember making snowmen and snow angels. I remember laughing and laughing and laughing.  Snow makes me think of fun and laughter.

      Bundling up for an adventure in the snow is fun, too.  You put on all your layers of clothing, your hat, mitten, boots and scarf and outside you go.  You are so warm that nothing could make you cold you think.  The contrast on your cheeks of the cold, wet snow is scintillating.  As you move through the snow you get hotter, until you start getting wet.  Then, the chill can hit you. Snow is full of dramatic contrasts.

     

       I have been caught in snowstorms on my way to and from the small town forty miles from home where I taught for my first nine years of teaching.  I was not a very experienced driver in my 20’s and had many times that I was stuck in a ditch on those country roads.  I experienced the kindness of friends and strangers many times.  Students’ and teachers’ families offered to put me up for the night because of the snow.  Snow brings out the best in people.

    

       As a young teacher, when we had snow day from school, my teacher friends and I would go skiing.  It was just the best time. We took a day that could have been dull and boring and turned it into the most wonderful of adventures.  Snow represents adventure!

       When I had a child, it was really important to me that my son loved snow, so I would bundle him up when he was very small and take him out to play in it even if he did not act like he wanted to go.  It was always a lot of fun for both of us.( Sometimes I could even drag my husband along.) I took him ice skating, tubing, and sled riding many times.  My sister enjoyed this too, so she was always game! When my son was five, my sister and I took him skiing, so that winter would be fun for him; and to this day, it is!!! Snow had a way of binding us together. Snow is relationship building, too!

       There was a day in February, twenty-six years ago.  What a beautiful sunny day it was!  It was a day full of hopes and dreams!  After church, my fiancé and I stopped by to see my elderly great aunt and when we left her apartment, we were immersed in the most beautiful fresh falling snow. It was a totally unexpected snow!  It was not a cold day, but the falling snow was thick and luscious.  The flakes were big, sparkling and precious.  I can still remember the feeling of exuberance and joy that I felt when I saw the snow on that particular day.  I remember my little white satin shoes stepping in the snow and the warmth of my fiancé’s hand. On this day, snow represented love and joy.  It was our wedding day and God gave us the gift of pure, good, lovely, fresh fallen snow to start our lives together. 

Uncluttering to Find Joy

Uncluttering to Find Joy

        Uncluttering our homes, our offices, our social relationships, our eating habits and our lives may be one of the best things we can do. It will help us keep our focus on what is truly important and give us time to appreciate what we have. It will help us to have time for gratitude and joy.  Resolving to simplify life and uncluttering may seem like a daunting task, but it is worthwhile.

        Many of us talk about multitasking and even find delight in multitasking, because it helps us get things done faster.  We want to get things done more rapidly so we can accomplish more.  The more we accomplish the closer we are to our vision of success or a feeling of being uncluttered. Maybe the multitasking approach is part of the problem, however. If I do the dishes, mop the floor, nurture my little child, spend time with my husband, talk on the phone, bake bread and give myself a facial all at the same time, perhaps something will be slighted. Some things need my entire focus of attention. I am only uncluttering my life, when I repeatedly multitask, to find time for more clutter.

         There is actually a speech disorder called cluttering.  It is characterized by lots of starts and stops; racing thoughts, saying things that were not meant to be said, leaving off parts of words; omitting endings of words; using lots of “um’s and ah’s” and being unaware of how one’s speech sounds to others. It is as though the person has a cluttered mind. Isn’t that metaphorically what we are doing when we clutter our lives?  Isn’t that how our brain feels when we are cluttered in physical, spiritual or emotional ways? It is like being on a treadmill and not being able to get off.

       Being cluttered can be a way of talking, thinking, living and even hiding.  Have you ever been in a room where most everyone is someone you know and you say “hello” and a few words to everyone in the room, but realize that that was all there was time for? You feel cluttered because you did not have time to really connect to anyone. Maybe, that is how we hide.  We just do not have time to let anyone really get to know us or really get to know someone else. Moving through life that way will not lead to strong relationships.  It is another way of being cluttered.

       Eating without a plan can be an act of cluttering. Cluttering one’s body with foods that are not nutritious and not beneficial can be another form of confusion to one’s health and well-being.  It is true that good food tastes better when one eats primarily good foods. Healthy eating promotes good health.  How simple and uncluttered is that?

      Can uncluttering even promote weight loss?  Ms.Lynne Johnson, a professional organizer, said in the January 5, 2008 NewYork Times that she often sees a link between her client’s efforts to get organized and weight loss. “I think someone decides, ‘I’m not going to live like this anymore. I’m not going to hold onto my stuff, I’m not going to hold onto my weight,’” she said. “I don’t know that one comes before the other. It’s part of that same life-change decision.”

       Collecting junk and saving useless things is the obvious form of cluttering that we think about when we talk about this issue.  I try to clean out closets and drawers periodically and this activity proves very positive.  It gives me a feeling of control of my life to a degree.  I like to control my “stuff”, not let the “stuff” control me.  What we hold on to says a lot about what we value, as does what we are willing to part with. “Less is more”.

         We give our children in America so many things that they do not have time to appreciate them.  When you look at most suburban children’s rooms, you see numerous colorful toys, stuffed animals, gadgets and craft supplies.  These items are layered upon each other and then stuffed in boxes so quickly that there is little time to enjoy or appreciate them.  The children are easily bored, because they have not been given the time to delve into anything.  They are given one stimulating item after another without the time to explore them.  They are taken to lots of classes and sports activities, but time to enjoy the simple things is not available.  We are a nation of doting parents, but the fruits of our labors are cluttered children who will soon become cluttered adults.

        Simplifying our lives and controlling our clutter is a possible task if we see this as important.  Cluttering in our lives can be seen in many ways.  It can be seen by how we multitask, how we over-stimulate our brains, how we interact socially, how we eat, how we collect “stuff”, and how we prioritize our lives.  It can be seen prominently in how we rear our beloved children to become cluttered adults as we are. 

        G.K. Chesterton said, "The modern world has far too little understanding of the art of keeping young. Its notion of progress has been to pile one thing on top of another, without caring if each thing was crushed in turn.  People forget that the human soul can enjoy a thing most when there is time to think about if and be thankful for it.  And by crowding things together they lost the sense of surprise and surprise is the secret of joy."  That is exactly what I think!

       

      

Willow

Willow

I look out into my backyard which is two and a half stories down and I see a faded trampoline and right beside it is a pussy willow tree.  The tree is absolutely beautiful.  It was given to us by my dear friend Willow and her husband.  It had gotten really big in the 20 plus years since it had been planted there, the year my husband and I were married.   Though it had been pruned many times, we decided three years ago that it had to go.  Part of the trunk had split and was growing parallel to the ground. It seemed dangerous when my son tried to mow.  What a surprise to find that after chopping it down, it was still there the next year and still growing strong!  Such it is with a willow tree. It has a hardy root system and is nearly impossible to destroy.

Willow is just like that.  She is strong and dedicated and her roots run deep.  She is tenacious and loyal.  Once you are her friend, you are her friend for life. You can leave her, but she will not leave you. There are “friends for a reason, friends for a season and friends for life.”  She is a friend for life.

My first encounter with Willow was when she called me telling me that she was given my name by the school superintendent as a potential roommate.  I was a single teacher and so was she.  I had said to the superintendent in passing that I might want to live in the small town where I taught.   Little did I know that he would give my name to a new teacher.  

When I met her, she was very graceful, beautiful and a little shy.  I could not think that she would want to room with me; especially when I told her that I was getting very interested in religion.  How geeky was that!  I, honestly, did not think she would want to live with someone like me.  I tried really hard to talk her out of the arrangement, but she was determined and, as matter of fact, she too was interested in religion.   We both taught similar subjects and had remarkably a lot in common, as it turned out.

We were baptized on the same day and definitely felt that God had put us together.  We were in each other’s weddings and our families were very close.  Willow and I would spend lots of days hanging out with our kids in the summer when the guys were at work.  We would talk and talk.  Time just flew by when we were together.  Our time together always ended before we were ready.

I did not even know she read my blog when in the mail I received numerous little books about all of the subjects I had written about. She just knew I would like them. I was about to throw the package away when I found a pressed gardenia in the bottom.  It was a bit wilted, but the scent was perfect.  (I had just blogged about how much I loved pressed flowers and…the scent of a gardenia.) It is so like her to notice even the tiniest detail.   

This is another amazing quality that she has. She is an attentive listener. In today’s rat race, this is a rare quality.  She remembers the details of your life and makes you feel as if those details are as important as her own. 

Willow has many strong characteristics. Willow loves to read, travel and learn new things.  She is a wonderful mother, wife, teacher and friend.  She knows about all kinds of useful things.  She is thoughtful, artistic and creative.  Her loyalty, tenacity, faithfulness and all of her other amazing qualities go back to her Christian roots. I expect to enjoy my friendship with Willow and our willow tree as long as I live, because of… the roots.

Happy Birthday, Willow!