Because of Winn-Dixie
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance
(Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 4)
My lovely wife and I have this dance that we do. See she knows that there are certain movies (you know like the ones with grown up Melissa Gilbert in them) that I just won’t normally watch. And she is totally fine with that but she knows, because she knows me, that there are some that I would really like.
So generally she will start watching a movie…just plop it in the VCR and see what happens. I’ll sigh and start reading a magazine or pretend I’m going to sleep. But eventually I’ll get into it and enjoy it. In fact, many times Linda will fall asleep and I’ll be up until midnight finishing the movie.
That same feeling I get, about grown up Melissa Gilbert movies, is how I felt when Because of Winn-Dixie came out. Honestly, I don’t know why I get that way. Actually, that disgusted feeling is a pretty good indication that
I will like the movie and be moved by it. Does that mean I’m weird or crazy? Probably.
That’s not really why I’m writing this blog. The reason I am writing it is because this movie did MoveMe. It spoke so much to my heart of the loneliness that can so easily take over my life, even though there are so many around me. I am too easily turned off by other people because they might be a little “weird�. Mostly the movie showed me that I don’t share my sorrows or my joys often enough.
::ISOLATION::
At the beginning of the movie Opal is in Church and is praying to God that she could get some friends. She looks around the Church and basically sees a bunch of weirdos. She thinks one is too young and sucks her knuckle instead of her thumb, another has a sour look on her face and is too old, and some boys…well not only are they boys but they have shaved heads to keep away lice! It’s the classic “Woe is me God� prayer when the answer to her friend issues is right in front of her face.
I think it’s classic that this occurs at Church where nobody should be isolated, but most end up that way because they think the people are “weird�. I do this ALL the time whether in Church or elsewhere! My first tendency when I meet people is to pick things out about them that are different, peculiar, well weird. That’s what we would call it but I believe God calls it unique.
But our kind of thinking leads to isolation. See first I think that person is kinda weird I don’t want to talk to them. Then I drive home thinking that Church service or party or whatever was no good…I didn’t even meet anyone. And I think “Duh…because you built a 10ft thick wall between you and everyone around you!� I’ve been learning and working on “taking these thoughts about others captive� (2 Cor 10:5). Just like Winn-Dixie helped Opal to meet others by forcing her into situations where she would get to know others before judging them, God does that for me.
I’ve found myself at little kid birthday parties (essentials when you have 5 year old) putting up the 10ft armor
plated wall between me and a tattooed, biker shirt wearing dude. And God will lovingly compel me to introduce myself. You know what? It works out just like the movie. Even if I don’t become best friends with that person my world is a little less lonely and isolated for hanging out a few minutes with a new person.
I truly believe God made us relational beings. We weren’t meant to be alone; we were made to connect with others sometimes deeply, many times briefly. Opal learned this in a wonderful way through a dog named Winn-Dixie who forced her to connect with the people in her neighborhood and Church.
::JOY AND SORROW::
In the movie, when Miss Fanny introduced Opal and Amanda to Litmus Lozenges, she (Miss Fanny) talked about how the town of Naomi had forgotten how to share their sorrows. Later Opal decides the throw a party with Gloria because she thinks the town has also forgotten how to share joy.
King Solomon, arguably the wisest man who ever lived, said (in my words) there’s a time for everything; crying, laughing, weeping, and dancing (Eccl 3:4). Why is it then that I am so loathed to share my sorrows as well as my joys with others? Sometimes I think it’s the Stoic society that I live in, where emotions are bad and facts are good. Other times I just feel like people won’t care about my joy or sorrow, what’s worse is sometimes I’m right.
The thing is I think the one goes with the other. We cannot experience real, deep joy without also experiencing real, deep sorrow or pain. The writer of Hebrews (12:2) said that Jesus painfully died on a cross for the joy that would come as a result (salvation for those who believe and a place of prominence and God’s right hand). I have found in my marriage that Linda and I will only share as much intimacy as we will share our greatest fears, wounds, secrets. I have also found great healing in communities of men that were open to relating everything about ourselves.
So true the saying, “You’ll get as much as you put in.� Also, one writer said that conflict is the bridge to intimacy. Ok one more…No pain, no gain. (One too many?)
::FINAL THOUGHT::
Towards the beginning of the movie Opal draws the town of Naomi on a piece of paper. It is black and white and just made up of streets and building, no colors no words. It’s a great example of what it’s like at the beginning of any relationship, either with another person or even a Church, it’s a blank canvas. It will be what we make of it most of the time. With the help of a funny looking dog Opal was able to make Naomi a very colorful and vibrant place, in her drawing and in the hearts of those she touched.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 4)
My lovely wife and I have this dance that we do. See she knows that there are certain movies (you know like the ones with grown up Melissa Gilbert in them) that I just won’t normally watch. And she is totally fine with that but she knows, because she knows me, that there are some that I would really like.
So generally she will start watching a movie…just plop it in the VCR and see what happens. I’ll sigh and start reading a magazine or pretend I’m going to sleep. But eventually I’ll get into it and enjoy it. In fact, many times Linda will fall asleep and I’ll be up until midnight finishing the movie.
That same feeling I get, about grown up Melissa Gilbert movies, is how I felt when Because of Winn-Dixie came out. Honestly, I don’t know why I get that way. Actually, that disgusted feeling is a pretty good indication that
I will like the movie and be moved by it. Does that mean I’m weird or crazy? Probably.That’s not really why I’m writing this blog. The reason I am writing it is because this movie did MoveMe. It spoke so much to my heart of the loneliness that can so easily take over my life, even though there are so many around me. I am too easily turned off by other people because they might be a little “weird�. Mostly the movie showed me that I don’t share my sorrows or my joys often enough.
::ISOLATION::
At the beginning of the movie Opal is in Church and is praying to God that she could get some friends. She looks around the Church and basically sees a bunch of weirdos. She thinks one is too young and sucks her knuckle instead of her thumb, another has a sour look on her face and is too old, and some boys…well not only are they boys but they have shaved heads to keep away lice! It’s the classic “Woe is me God� prayer when the answer to her friend issues is right in front of her face.
I think it’s classic that this occurs at Church where nobody should be isolated, but most end up that way because they think the people are “weird�. I do this ALL the time whether in Church or elsewhere! My first tendency when I meet people is to pick things out about them that are different, peculiar, well weird. That’s what we would call it but I believe God calls it unique.
But our kind of thinking leads to isolation. See first I think that person is kinda weird I don’t want to talk to them. Then I drive home thinking that Church service or party or whatever was no good…I didn’t even meet anyone. And I think “Duh…because you built a 10ft thick wall between you and everyone around you!� I’ve been learning and working on “taking these thoughts about others captive� (2 Cor 10:5). Just like Winn-Dixie helped Opal to meet others by forcing her into situations where she would get to know others before judging them, God does that for me.
I’ve found myself at little kid birthday parties (essentials when you have 5 year old) putting up the 10ft armor
plated wall between me and a tattooed, biker shirt wearing dude. And God will lovingly compel me to introduce myself. You know what? It works out just like the movie. Even if I don’t become best friends with that person my world is a little less lonely and isolated for hanging out a few minutes with a new person.I truly believe God made us relational beings. We weren’t meant to be alone; we were made to connect with others sometimes deeply, many times briefly. Opal learned this in a wonderful way through a dog named Winn-Dixie who forced her to connect with the people in her neighborhood and Church.
::JOY AND SORROW::
In the movie, when Miss Fanny introduced Opal and Amanda to Litmus Lozenges, she (Miss Fanny) talked about how the town of Naomi had forgotten how to share their sorrows. Later Opal decides the throw a party with Gloria because she thinks the town has also forgotten how to share joy.
King Solomon, arguably the wisest man who ever lived, said (in my words) there’s a time for everything; crying, laughing, weeping, and dancing (Eccl 3:4). Why is it then that I am so loathed to share my sorrows as well as my joys with others? Sometimes I think it’s the Stoic society that I live in, where emotions are bad and facts are good. Other times I just feel like people won’t care about my joy or sorrow, what’s worse is sometimes I’m right.
The thing is I think the one goes with the other. We cannot experience real, deep joy without also experiencing real, deep sorrow or pain. The writer of Hebrews (12:2) said that Jesus painfully died on a cross for the joy that would come as a result (salvation for those who believe and a place of prominence and God’s right hand). I have found in my marriage that Linda and I will only share as much intimacy as we will share our greatest fears, wounds, secrets. I have also found great healing in communities of men that were open to relating everything about ourselves.
So true the saying, “You’ll get as much as you put in.� Also, one writer said that conflict is the bridge to intimacy. Ok one more…No pain, no gain. (One too many?)
::FINAL THOUGHT::
Towards the beginning of the movie Opal draws the town of Naomi on a piece of paper. It is black and white and just made up of streets and building, no colors no words. It’s a great example of what it’s like at the beginning of any relationship, either with another person or even a Church, it’s a blank canvas. It will be what we make of it most of the time. With the help of a funny looking dog Opal was able to make Naomi a very colorful and vibrant place, in her drawing and in the hearts of those she touched.
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