Archive for September, 2009

I enjoy movies. Simple as that, I enjoy movies, and I watch a lot of them. It doesn’t mater the genre as long as it is decently made and keeps me entertained for a while. Admittedly they can be a bit of an escape from the real world for me (which isn’t so great but, a conversation for another time).

So, I watch movies. Tonight I was over at a friend’s house and we watched the oldie but goodie Say Anything, starring John Cusack and an actress who I’m pretty sure went on to do very little but, that’s irrelevant. So, admittedly, I watch what some might call chick flicks – it’s my guilty pleasure.

In every chick flick you can count on a few things. One of these things is that inevitably there will be that part in the movie where things aren’t happy. The girl or guy will find out something about their counterpart that they weren’t entirely truthful about and all the happiness goes to pot. They break up (if they were together) and go out and do stupid or say stupid things and so on. People are upset.

I always hate this part in the movie, it makes me mad, not sad, mad. I get upset because it’s usually some sort of ridiculous thing that they are upset about or, the party who called it off is equally at fault. Regardless, in any good chick flick they will invariably get back together anyway, so I feel like this part of the movie exists simply to make it meet the 90 minute chick flick quota, no more and certainly no less.

Another part you can count on, in most but not all, is the open ending. It will end on a happy note, however you are left wondering exactly what happens after. Do they run away and live happily ever after? Do they buy the boat, the puppy, the house, adopt the kid, save the day, break out of jail – Who knows, I guess it all depends on if you are a glass half full or a glass half empty type of person.

So, there are more formulas to the chick flick, but those two are the two that stuck out to me tonight. Out of the two I’m just going to elaborate on one of them – the fact that very often, we are left hanging as to what happens. Yes, perhaps we are left on a happy note (except for The Break Up but, we won’t go into that) albeit a very open ended happy note but, one nonetheless.

This kills me, why can’t they just give a little tid bit of what happens? Maybe one of those little titles that come up at the end like on Remember the Titans where it goes through and says what happened to everyone – something like that. Or, a newer fad, something at the end of the credits like the couple in the delivery room – making way for a very funny family comedy in which they dive into the struggles of raising a child in the midst of their zany lives. Something, anything, I just want some resolution.

Really though, I love movies with very resolute endings. At the end of the movie I’m left sitting there going, well – so it is. You may not be happy with the ending but at least it ties things up, that’s okay, as long as I’m not left hanging. Maybe they lived happily every after, maybe they were killed by a mugger – together – and in love, either way it’s an ending.

Am I alone here? I don’t think I am. I think most people like to have some sort of wrap up. Most people do, it’s a semi-standard thing, I’ve met very few people who prefer to be in the dark all the time. So, what is it about us that makes us have to know what’s next? I think it’s something more deeply rooted than a high budget formula written movie.

I mean, if you think about it, this isn’t the only aspect of our lives that we try to know the ending of. The desire goes far beyond movies, a lot of people plan out every detail of their life. We just have this longing to know what is next. The next home, the next promotion, the next day’s plans – we think about what is next all of the time. In fact, I would say that a lot of the time the hope of what is next is overshadowing what is here and now.

Why is that we can’t just let go of things? I’m not trying to say that we shouldn’t plan but, sometimes you just have to realize that God, in his sovereignty, at any moment, could entirely alter what is next – and all of our planning becomes rather silly, and useless. At the time it may seem all “Woe is me, I thought I was going to get the poodle but now I don’t know if I can get any dog,” but in reality we’re more than likely better off. Really, believe it or not, God always has your best interest at heart. Scripture is full of references to letting God take control and not worrying yourself over the things of this world [Luke 12:22-34] or planning out everything [James 4:13-17].

Now, don’t get me wrong – there is value in planning ahead. We are called to be good stewards of what is given to us, this is true, however what I am trying to say is sometimes we get so caught up in the stewardship of what we are given that we neglect the most important thing that has been given to us – life. We were pulled up from a most certain death and given life and so often we just sit and think about… tomorrow? What about today? What have you done today to show the love of God to someone? What have you done today that has had a positive effect on the kingdom?

You could walk outside and get hit by a Mack Truck tomorrow and your plans will have been for nothing. I’m guilty of this too, I plan all the time, I plan ahead and daydream all day long about what my life will be like in 10 years. This is so pointless I can’t even begin to talk about it… 10 years from now? I haven’t the slightest idea of what I’ll be doing in 10 years. One thing that I want to make sure I am doing, is living where God wants me.

To wrap it up I’m going to quote a line from a song I like, “we must rip out all the epilogues from the books that we have read…”

I know it sounds sort of corny when it’s pulled out of the song but I think it’s a great point. Sometimes we are so caught up in what is happening next that we miss out on it happening.

How much better is it to be a part of what happens next than to read about it later?

I wrote this a few nights ago:

So I’m sitting at home on my deck, enjoying a cigar and a the calm of night. As I look across my plastic deck table to an area normally unoccupied I see a toilet. Odd, right? Normally the only thing on this wall is a window and maybe a spider-web.

I mean not having any sort of background as to how it got there one might wonder, “Why do they have a toilet on their deck? Is it functional?” Both of these are entirely legitimate as this is not a standard scenario.

Now, I’m under the impression that generally, in a newer neighborhood, there would exist rules and regulations against this sort of thing. However, these sorts of rules do not exist in my neighborhood.

Anyway, this toilet on my deck got me thinking (don’t they always?)

How similar is a toilet on our deck to something else in our lives? It’s out of place, it should be taken care of, if I were to have a BBQ people would certainly ask questions. What if I moved the toilet to the front porch instead?

Anyone who walked or drove by could see it. People would more than likely talk about it, maybe not to us, but rest assured, there would be some sort of talking. Sure, some neighbors will ask about it, those that know us and are comfortable enough would even offer to help get rid of it. Though, to offer to help get rid of first involves some sort of background. Why it’s there, if we do in fact intend to move it and so on.

So, what if the toilet were actually some sort of deep spiritual issue? Some may hide it deep in their soul (the deck) so only those closest to us might see or know about it. Then there are those issues we wear on our sleeves (the porch), those that everyone knows about and we choose to not try and hide them.

Either way, no one is helping you with that toilet without first seeing it, then asking about it, right?

I know this is a ridiculous comparison but think about it. How often do we expect to help someone with some deep spiritual hurt without first finding out why they’re hurt or attempt to help someone out of a rut without finding how they fell into the rut to begin with? This is an important step to actually helping someone.

I’ll refer back to a post I made a while back about shutting up and listening. There are plenty of scriptures to point to the idea that we should listen and assess, ask questions and actually pay attention to the answers before we try and even speak.

In a nutshell: you cannot begin to help someone or be helped yourself until there is some amount of background. To help without any background is like throwing a dollar of gas in an empty tank. It may get you a little further but, certainly not to your desitnation.

You cannot claim to truly love others without listening, and helping.

Goodnight.

Listening to a lot of The Avett Brothers lately, this song is my favorite, so far.

If I weren’t leavin’, would I catch you dreamin’
And if I weren’t gonna be gone now, could I take you home
And if I told you I loved you, would it change what you see
And if I was staying, would you stay with me
And if I had money, would it all look good
And if I had a job now, like a good man should
And if I came to you tomorrow, and said let’s run away
Would you roll like the wind does, baby would you stay

My heart is dancin’, to a November tune
And I hope that you hear it, singing songs about you
And I sing songs of sorrow, because you’re not around
See, babe I’m gone tomorrow, Baby follow me down

I don’t know why I have to, but this man must move on
I love my time here, didn’t know ’til I was gone
November shadows, shade November change
November spells sweet memory, the season blue remains
November spells sweet memory, the season blue remains

Your yellow hair is like the sunlight, however sweet it shines
Bit by the cold of December, I’m warm beside your smile

Oh lady, tell me I’m not leaving, you’re everything I dreamed
I’m killing myself thinking, I’ve fallen like the leaves
I’m killing myself thinking, I’ve fallen like the leaves

I think one thing that gets me about this song and most other of my favorites are well done vocal harmonies. Granted, the two vocalists are brothers – which can’t hurt.

Anyway, they have a great sound – I hope you enjoy as much as I do.