TJ Hirst

Galatians 5:22-23

My Daily Question: Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us today?

Carefree and curious, my daughter peeks out from behind the fabric of the hammock. I capture the moment of calm with my camera and wonder at the possibilities ahead of her.

On another day, my children watch The Incredibles in the backseat of the car. I listen to the blaring action of the movie and the stop-and-go-traffic and wonder why I can’t stop shoving Twizzler Cherry Nibs into my mouth.

The contrasting scenes leave me to wonder—the first with hope, the second with dismay.

Does every mother glimpse the potential in her child, feel inspired by awe and wish for the grandest fruition of those gifts? If so, why do we look upon ourselves with diminished eyesight, only seeing the limitations of our day-to-day reality?

Not everyone is trapped in traffic with too many Cherry Nibs but similar distractions like comparing ourselves to others or toiling in countless activities just fill up our time and emotions until we become less connected to actual people, less fulfilled in what we do and less confident in our choices. Overstuffed but still empty.

When these mixed-up outlooks cage me in, my husband counsels me to “lower your expectations.” At first I think he means stop being a perfectionist and just be happy with who you are and what you have. And he does mean that to some extent. Yet, I don’t believe he means that I need to set aside my dreams. On the contrary, he encourages them.

I might use these words: Hold on to your wonder-filled expectations without worrying about the Wonder Woman expectations.

Most of us do not want to be the woman who evokes amazement or the one everyone admires nor do we seek fame or the superiority of a super hero, but we still want to give our best in our sphere of influence with the talents we’ve been given. A natural desire for affirmation sometimes sidetracks that goal.

Ultimately, knowing and growing in our potential comes from inspiration on the inside and not comparisons or pressure from the outside. Personally, when I look beyond the threads of my circumstance at the awe-inspiring patterns God has created, only then can I see the wonder in me.

This is an entry in the July Write-Away Contest at Scribbit.
Interested in entering? The topic is Wonder Woman and you have until July 16 to enter.

Update: This post won honorable mention in Scribbit’s July Write-Away Contest!

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Genesis 2:2-3

I zoomed in to take a picture of my children in front this stone monument in a sacred place. Between my children’s heads I read these words, “Build A House Unto Me.” The moment impressed upon me my charge as a mother.

I’m a movie talker. I am also a movie writer—no, not a screenwriter, a movie viewer who writes the good lines in my little notebook. But when my family took me to see Prince Caspian in an actual theater for my birthday, I forgot my notebook and didn’t talk at all!

Now, as I write, I realize why I talk and write in the midst of an expereince—these verbal tools sear the impressions in my mind in the moment before they are lost. That’s the moment when my creative thought process reacts and processes the story and how it relates to life. Nonetheless, my total absorption in this movie was not lost after its end nor was the ensuing discussion diminished.

The second movie in the Narnia Chronicles stepped into an even deeper symbolic understanding of what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Aslan is the fictional lion that leads the land of Narnia as a Christ-figure.

In the conclusion of the first movie, the four kings and queens of Narnia return to England for a year, but time continues in Narnia, bringing forth a new generation of dangers and a new leader, Prince Caspian.

When Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are called back to help, they discover a changed land where Aslan does not seem to exist. This time they know who they are and their capacity to lead. However, even for leaders, change requires humility to reach their potential. While Edmund is the one humbled by sin in the last movie, this time, Peter is the one to learn this lesson.

Pride is a painful lesson. Since we cannot view ourselves from the outside, pride is difficult to distinguish and overcome. The young knight Peter develops his potential and then feels capable to serve. As king he moves forward according to his best plans. But in carrying out his plans, Peter still cannot lead on his own. The results show his need for Aslan.

When I face a situation when pride blinds my own eyes, I tend to depend upon what I’ve known from the past rather than looking beyond with faith. For me, I always ask for that help from Christ first, but then I begin a process of talking it out with myself and trusted friends to awaken in me the solutions I can internalize. However, like Peter, if I get scared that the solution from Christ might not come in time, my talking may turn into a worried effort to storm the castle on my own. Then, in the midst of rushing toward the desired outcome, I am surprised by the castle gates that block my way and try to fight at those barriers.

How much I must become like the little child Lucy who can still see Aslan and perseveres toward him rather than toward the enemy.