I cannot remember the
last time I cried at a movie. And, as a general rule, I do not enjoy anything
that is classified (or, that according to commercials, looks like it should be
classified) as a romantic comedy. So, when
a few girlfriends introduced the idea of seeing P.S. I Love You last weekend,
I had low expectations. Correct that, very
low expectations. Moreover, I had not read any reviews or synopses, nor had I
read Cecilia Ahern’s book upon which the movie is based. I went into the
theatre expecting a poorly-scripted, predictable, romantic comedy where all of
life’s ills are solved by romantic love. While I won’t say the movie changed my
life, I will say I was pleasantly surprised and surprisingly tear-stained by the
end.
Some reviewers are
calling it clichéd, predictable and sappy. And, while I can see where they’re coming
from, the moments of truth and honesty I found in the film were enough to
dissolve the normal cloak of skepticism that I typically wear into any romantic
comedy.
The film walks the
viewer alongside young, widowed Holly’s grieving process, starting with the
haunting feelings created by her late husband Gerry’s absence. It was hard for
me not to cry as she continued to talk to him as if he would respond and free
her from her suffering. Holly is
terrified of life without Gerry. And, as I watched, C.S. Lewis’s opening lines
of A Grief Observed came to mind: “No
one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.”
But, far greater than the
fear of life without Gerry, we come to understand that Holly is most terrified
that she will be incapable of reclaiming any sort of life for herself. She is
paralyzed and limited by her own view of herself. And, here was where the movie
unleashed the most power over me - one of Gerry’s many words of encouragement
he leaves for Holly is the wish that she would be able to see herself through
his eyes.
I had the opportunity
to hear a lively speaker named Carl a few weeks ago. He told almost
unbelievable tales of work of which he had been part in the Middle East,
dialoguing with Muslims about the person of Jesus. (Stick with me here, there’s
a connection). One night when he was
preparing to share the Gospel under a tent with a large crowd, a caravan of high ranking officials descended on the tent. Quite prepared
to kill Carl and his family, they asked what message he intended to share. His
response was something like this: “I just want to tell everyone here about
Jesus and how much he loves them.” They were pleasantly surprised and, almost
unbelievably, left him to deliver the message in the tent that night.
Holly’s story and, more
specifically, Gerry’s words of encouragement, remind me that relationships can
be great vehicles of blessing and transformation. But, they are rusty, broken-down vehicles whose
ultimate destination is to point us to the only relationship that will truly satisfy
us—because we were designed for it. Our pastor, who is full of wise one-liners
that have the tendency to rattle around in my brain, said the other weekend of the
Lord’s perspective of us: “He loves us as we are. And he loves us too much to
leave us as we are.”
What wondrous love is
this? My hope for the New Year is that I will ask with a new spirit of
inquisitiveness, who is this Jesus? I hope that I will have a soft enough heart
to grow deeper in my understanding of His love. And, I hope that I will get out
of His way enough to be a vessel of love and encouragement to those around me
at home, at work, at church, so that they may get a glimpse of the great love
and fondness that brought our Lord to earth and nailed him to a cross. And, so
they may come to see themselves through His
eyes. I expect I’ll fail most days. But, I think that’s part of my own journey
to learn to see myself through His eyes, too.
I cannot remember the
last time I cried at a movie. And, as a general rule, I do not enjoy anything
that is classified (or, that according to commercials, looks like it should be
classified) as a romantic comedy. So, when
a few girlfriends introduced the idea of seeing P.S. I Love You last weekend,
I had low expectations. Correct that, very
low expectations. Moreover, I had not read any reviews or synopses, nor had I
read Cecilia Ahern’s book upon which the movie is based. I went into the
theatre expecting a poorly-scripted, predictable, romantic comedy where all of
life’s ills are solved by romantic love. While I won’t say the movie changed my
life, I will say I was pleasantly surprised and surprisingly tear-stained by the
end. 
Very encouraging and challenging thoughts, Meghan. Thanks for sharing them. Your final paragraph expresses my hope for the new year as well.
Posted by: Bet | January 10, 2008 at 05:33 AM
Meghan, this is beautiful. Thank you.
Posted by: GL | January 10, 2008 at 08:48 AM
I enjoyed your encouraging comments on this movie and then how you linked it to Jesus. Encouragement is my passion, because I know it makes a difference for me! I believe if we could learn to say encouraging words to each other, we could change the world one person at a time.
How to encourage
http://howtoencourage.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Kay G | January 10, 2008 at 09:27 PM
Great, great, great post. I think your title, the C.S. Lewis quote, and Carl's story all beautifully capture the sense of wonder that God's love occasions. I think that surprise and shock are perfectly appropriate responses to this love.
Posted by: matt k | January 14, 2008 at 06:54 PM