Last night my suite mate and I watched the movie, “Footloose”—not
the 80’s version but the newer one. As odd as it may seem, the Holy Spirit
really spoke to me through it.
The story is based in a town that three years prior had
suffered the loss of five teenagers in a car accident after a dancing party. To
keep the town together in the aftermath of this tragedy, the town had acted to
ban dancing city-wide at the leading of a local pastor who had lost a son in
the accident. The movie centers on this pastor’s daughter and her rebellion
against him in response to her brother’s death and her overall confusion about
life. Her father had worked to minimize
turmoil in the town, yet had neglected to face the turmoil in his own home.
First of all, I can say humbly and honestly that I have been
in situations similar to the girl in the movie. Who hasn’t endured personal
hardships that stir confusion?
One scene toward the end of the movie tied it all together
for me. In this scene, the students decide to hold the senior dance on the
outskirts of town where it is legal. Ultimately, the father hesitantly approves
of his daughter’s decision to attend. In order to display his support, he announces
his support to the church during a Sunday sermon and buys her a corsage. It all
culminates when he proudly hugs her and tells her she is his angel.
At this point in the movie, I’m crying over three things:
1.
My dad was not alive to send me off to my prom
2.
Dennis Quaid (the dad in the movie) was my
father’s celebrity look-alike.
4. This father is showing his daughter love no
matter how far she has wandered. And you see that the fathers words of love and encouragement deeply impact her.
We in the same way should feel impacted when our heavenly father pursues us despite our failures.
Jesus says through the parable of the lost sheep that he would leave the 99 sheep just to find the lost one. The
father of the movie does something similar by risking the disapproval of the
whole town to support his daughter.
God never fails to find me like the lost sheep and the wandering rebellious daughter. This is always more evident when I am going through a season of confusion about my faith and future. God at the hardest moments speaks incredible love over me that couldn't ever be described with words or
writing.
Because even as upsetting it is to not have my father, the words of Jesus will better than any words that my dad could have ever expressed at my prom. And I realize that more than longing for words from my father at prom, I long to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”while feeling an overwhelming
peace of being found, known, and loved by God. In that moment I know I will be fully accepted into
the kingdom to worship Him eternally.
Really what moment could be greater?
Thanks for reading!
Karlie
