It is no secret that I love finding lessons from movies; the
number of times I have quoted Proof, The
Matrix, Donnie Darko, etc. is ridiculous. So, I found it easy to concur with Ken Gire’s
sentiment that films can serve as windows to the soul.
Most recently, during a bout of insomnia, I watched Liz
Gilbert’s journey portrayed by Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love. It seemed
like a fitting late night film for a single, female living abroad on her own
for the summer who dreams of traveling the world. My choice of movie is already
a glimpse into my personality I suppose and I gleaned much from Liz’s
adventure.
But for the sake of being concise, I want to devote this
post to a quote from the end of the film.
After having traveled through Italy, India and Indonesia (by the way,
why do all the countries start with the letter “I”?), Liz reflects on how the
journey impacted her. As we are each on our own journeys in life,
I find Liz’s revelation extremely relevant regardless of an individual’s
location or circumstances.
In the end, I've come to believe in something I call "The Physics of the Quest." A force in nature governed by laws as real as the laws of gravity. The rule of Quest Physics goes something like this: If you're brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting, which can be anything from your house to bitter, old resentments, and set out on a truth-seeking journey, either externally or internally, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you.
If you are willing to embrace the journey and to learn from
it, the truth will not be withheld from you. While I know that movie never
mentions a Judeo-Christian God, I find that Liz Gilbert’s truth-seeking
excursion is a great metaphor for a spiritual journey where the end result is
the joy of knowing a God that does not withhold Himself from those who seek
Him.
But to find Him, to allow Him to find you…. You must be willing
to begin the journey. You must be brave enough to take a risk. You must be
willing to give up all that you know to be true to discover the truth-
accepting that you can be and will be wrong about things along the way. You must look for the windows to the soul and
learn from your surroundings and the people God has placed in your path. You must
be willing to examine yourself and to be honest about who you are – and what it
takes to continually grow and mature into the person you are destined to be. If
you are willing to journey, the truth will not be withheld.
I am definitely on that journey. I am a young, single woman
looking to live a life devoted to following Jesus. I do not know what that
looks like or where I will live or what I will do for work. I know that I am
far from perfect, and I am on path of spiritual formation. And, I know that in
the process of journeying I will be wrong and I have been wrong. And, I know
that at times I will be hurt, and at times I will hurt others. Still, the journey is worth it. The truth is worth
it. In the end, if we are willing to journey, we will never be disappointed
with the outcome. There is always something to learn and always some way to
grow and always blessings along the way.
If we are willing to continue to
journey, the truth will never be withheld.
Posts
0 comments
Post a Comment