Those who know me well know that I am a sap when it comes to a good, sad (yet happy) movie.

The Family Stone, Steel Magnolias, and City of Angels are among the mile long list of the above made-up genre. And tonight a new movie joins the collection: About Time

Not only was Rachel McAdams perfect per usual and not only was Domhnall Gleeson the perfect mix of quirky, witty, and romantic...the point of the story, if you will, is very timely for me.

Without spoiling too much of the movie for you, I'll provide a tad bit of background information:

Domhnall Gleeson's character, Tim, learns from his father right after his 21st birthday that the men in the family can travel in time. After initially reversing several awkward situations, Tim finds himself--for the most part--completely happy and not needing to use his time-traveling powers as much. He also finds himself in predicaments throughout the movie where he has to make decisions that affect his time-traveling and/or life. He eventually comes to the end of a particular era in his time-traveling and uses his last travel to visit his dad where they relive a day when they were both much younger, running and playing at the beach, putting aside the current state of things for both Tim and his father. From then on, as if he was getting the chance to relive each day, Tim follows his father's advice and lives into every moment of his life to the very fullest of his capability.

Truly touching, really. If you get the chance and are a sap like me, I highly recommend seeing the film.

One of the things Tim says at the end of the movie really struck me. He says, "We're all traveling though time together--every day of our lives. All we can do is our best--to relish this remarkable ride."

It's at this point that I begin sobbing even more than I had done so previously throughout the movie. (It also didn't help that Ben Folds' "The Luckiest" is playing in the background of this particular part of the movie, which is a favorite of mine and also happens to "take me back in time")

I mean, wow. How beautiful of a statement is that?

A lot has been going on lately. Our household is battling health issues that don't always have clean-cut answers to the question, "Why is this happening?" Luckily, it's not anything life threatening as far as we know. It is just incredibly frustrating and draining when trying to navigate life wondering when signs of the above-mentioned illness is going to make another ugly appearance.

Along with health issues, we find ourselves trying to stay above water with our class load, which we probably overdid this semester. And I cannot speak on his behalf, but I miss my family--especially in this time of constantly feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and tired. 

Living in this space of worry, anxiousness, and--very honestly--sadness prevents me from living in the present. My mind is always, I mean always somewhere else: Is everything going to go smoothly today? For the next 20 minutes? How many days until Spring Break? What do we have due over the next three weeks? When do I have to work next week?

I'm not here. I mean, I am, obviously. At least physically. But mentally, emotionally, and spiritually I am so preoccupied, it literally sometimes hurts.

[[That's the problem with trying to be in control of every single aspect of your life--by trying to control everything, you miss out on what's happening, or what could be happening, this very instant.]]

What beauty, color, smells, sounds, and life-altering moments do we miss because we are so preoccupied with worry?

How are we to "relish this remarkable ride" if we're so focused on the next roller coaster that is inevitably coming our way?
I'm learning a lot from this... season... in my life. Because we all go through seasons, right? Things are never going to be 100% grand our entire lives. And if they are, I think that just reinforces the fact that we're missing out on the beauty and the life and  the restoration that have the potential to come out of the mistakes, the illnesses, and the heartbreaks that we face. We are not promised an easy road, but we are promised the hope that inevitably comes out of whatever suffering we encounter--from God's love for us shown through family, friends, random acts of kindness, not-so-random acts of kindness, a genuine "How ya doin?"

We are so very loved. And if we remember nothing more than this in the times that we find ourselves somewhere else, not present to the way God is moving here and now, maybe we know all we need to know. Because when we remember we are loved, we remember to be grateful for the many blessings we have been given, and when we remember to be thankful, we remember to notice those around us who are hurting, too.

[[And when we remember those who are hurting around us, we remember how much we benefited from remembering that one very important thing, so we share it with others: You are so, so very loved.]]

And life goes on.

In the movie, Dead Poets Society, Robin Williams, doing everything he can to inspire a class of teenage boys with the beauty of poetry, recites some of Walt Whitman's poem, "O Me! O Life!" The line Williams emphasizes from this poem has become famous in the hearts and minds of the movie's many viewers over the years:

"The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

                                       Answer.

That you are here—that life exists and identity,

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse."


The "good" is found in the fact that we are here--in every sense of the word. May we live fully into this remarkable ride, remembering that we are loved. And...."...that the powerful play goes on, and you [and I, and we, and they] may contribute a verse."