What did you do for New Year’s Eve? I watched a movie I had not seen for a couple of years, maybe even a little longer; Akeelah and the Bee. If any of you have seen it you might wonder why a fifty-two year old might be writing about this very G-rated and family friendly movie about a spelling bee, or you might not, because you have seen the movie.
It is one of those movies that chokes me up a little. It is about a little girl who against the odds wins a national spelling bee. Better yet, it is about a little girl who teaches others to hope and to dream. As the credits ran at the end of the movie tonight (if you attend a movie with me that moves me you will know you must sit through the entire credit listing–my way of honoring those who helped to produce something good) I thought about what made this such a good movie for me. After I first viewed it a few years ago I remember badgering my staff to go see the movie. I remember that I wanted everyone who I valued and respected to see this movie because it captures those three essentials that make us all so human, so wonderful and so glory-filled; faith, hope and love.
Those three things keep us persisting in life, they keep us from giving up and becoming cynical. I have a friend who I met with for a beer yesterday after work. He plays the cynical game with me. You know, poo-pooing any and all of my playful ventures and ideas (in the sense of play as C.S. Lewis describes in his sermon The Weight of Glory). I often call him a cynic to his face and he laughs at me and I laugh back. My optimism and over a decade of seniority on him tells me that beneath that thin cynical veneer that he is, or at least he longs to be, filled with the same faith, hope and love as Akeelah and me!
So, enough said this year about Akeelah and the Bee. Go watch it and then come back and tell me what you thought of it. My hope for you is that it will help knock some of that cynicism right out you, help you find that child inside that still plays and loves to play without fear but with much faith, hope and love.
Blessings to you for 2009! Happy New Year.
