Sunday dinner was spent in front of the television tonight.....a very rare occasion. After hearing that "UP" would be on TV right during dinner, and since "UP" is one of my favorite animated films, I decided that we would have a family movie night while we ate. Jeff joined us for chicken pockets & gravy with my Mama's glazed carrots as we enjoyed watching "UP" together. I had forgotten just how MUCH I love this movie. What a beautiful message...and even more meaningful for me at this point in my life.
Carl, the main character, spends the majority of the movie trying to fulfill his sweet wife Ellie's dream....to visit Paradise Falls...soon after her passing. He had always understood that to be the greatest desire of her heart, and promised her, that he would take their home there....to fulfill that dream. Throughout the movie, he experiences many adventures on the way. However, each of these many "adventures" is perceived as a "stumbling block" or a "distraction," keeping him from his ultimate goal. As a result, he misses out on so many of the adventures and the blessings that those adventures might have brought to his life.
Near the end of the movie, when it appears that he has failed his wife in fulfilling her dream, is what has become my favorite scene EVER in an animated film. (You can watch the scene HERE.) Carl is sitting in his arm chair looking through a photo album titled "MY ADVENTURE BOOK," made by his wife when they were both growing up. Reviewing her photos and journaling, he is reminded of his supposed failure to fulfill her wishes. With a heavy heart, he starts to close the album at the page titled "STUFF I'M GOING TO DO," assuming that the rest of the album remained blank. As the book closes and the page begins to turn, he notices that there are other photos filling the rest of the album - photos he has never seen. As he looks through the remainder of the pages for the first time, he realizes that every desire his wife had had, every adventure she had dreamed of....HAD, in fact, come true. What he hadn't realized, was that at some point in her life, Ellie realized what really mattered to her. Perhaps she learned that although we may expect our lives to be one way and even HOPE for them to be that way.....that very often, God has something entirely different in mind for us. At some point in her life....she realized how valuable those "unexpected adventures" were to her.
Joseph Campbell said, "We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." Ellie learned early in her life, that her sweet Carl and their relationship WAS the greatest adventure of her life...albeit unexpected, as it was.I never expected to be divorced in my early 30s. I never expected to be a single mother of two beautiful babies. There is so much about my life that isn't the way I dreamed it would be. My life isn't quite the "adventure" that a young Heather had once imagined. However, I am so very blessed to have learned early, that God has a greater plan for me...better than ANY adventure I could ever have mapped out. Much of this adventure has involved heartache and pain (ALL for a Divine purpose)......but it has also involved joy more pure and intense than I ever thought posssible. I have learned to let go of what I always expected....where I always thought I would be...and have completely surrendered to where GOD KNOWS I belong. How liberating that is....how much JOY and PEACE there is in a life led by HIS hand...and not limited by my own expectations.
Years ago, I remember thinking that my world was falling apart. Little did I know, as this beautiful quote below so beautifully states, that God was simply putting my life together EXACTLY the way He wants it.
With just a mere TASTE of the miracles and the pure joy that I have had in my life the past year, I am confident that GOD knows FAR BETTER THAN I DO, what is best for me. My life has not at all turned out the way I always thought it would. This is definitely not the adventure that I thought my life would be. What a MIRACLE, at such a YOUNG AGE, to already see that "God has got this," and that the ADVENTURES HE has in store for me are FAR greater than I can even wrap my head around. The "Stuff I Always Wanted to Do," and the place I always thought I would be, PALES in COMPARISON to where I ACTUALLY have ended up today...and to where I KNOW God means for me to be in "the end."
How grateful I am for my life....my wonderful, blessed life...so different than I ever thought it would be. I have ached more than ever thought I would.....and I have felt joy more passionate and pure than I ever thought imaginable. What a blessing to be at this unexpected place in my life - watching a movie with such a beautiful message, with three of my most precious miracles.
How grateful I am to a loving Heavenly Father who is so aware of me......and loves me enough to take "what I always wanted"....and to give me even more. Praise Him forever....for these beautiful "unexpected adventures."
You are so unbelievably amazing. Your blog is one of my favorite places. Love how you can put thoughts into words and give such incredible perspective. I AGREE wholeheartedly with the words you speak. LOVE YOU!!!
Posted by: Deanna King | February 13, 2012 at 08:15 AM