Cover of Water for Elephants: A Novel
Greg and I went to see “Water for Elephants” the other night – and while it is not my favorite movie of all time, there were some very thought-provoking things in it.
For starters – a young man after losing his parents in a tragic car accident, starts to walk away from everything he’s known in search of another life. He chances on a train and jumps on – not just any train – a train of circus performers. And he finds himself caught up in the life of the circus and meets the woman who will ultimately change his life.
Now while I believe that we make our own choices in life and there are no coincidences – I also have to believe that things happen the way they do for a reason. I was reading a quote from C.S. Lewis today.
In friendship…we think we have chosen our peers. In reality a few years’ difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another…the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting–any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking no chances. A secret master of ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples, Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, I can truly say to every group of Christian friends, Ye have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another. The friendship is not a reward for our discriminating and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each of us the beauties of others.
And so if this is true – that people are put in our path to help us through our journey – maybe we should look at adversities in the same way – as a means for helping us on our path – bringing something that we need at that very moment in time. And maybe I should spend less time in wondering, lamenting, searching for the reasons, blaming and feeling ill-used when things don’t go the way I think they should – and when my path isn’t as smooth as I think it should be. Maybe – just maybe – these things and people are God’s wonderful providence – provided for me by His great love.
What adversity are you facing today? What difficult people do you have to deal with? Coincidence – or Providence?
God Bless
Related articles
- Where There Is Faith (cindyholman.wordpress.com)
- God’s Incidences (Coincidences) (featherglass.com)
- Robert Pattinson and Water for Elephants in Screen Magazine – Japan (thinkingofrob.com)
- C.S. Lewis on Christian Society (simuliustusetpeccator.com)
- C.S. Lewis on Theories of Atonement (simuliustusetpeccator.com)
- Water for Elephants (librosmundo.wordpress.com)
- Water for Elephants: A plodding ménage à trunk (thestar.com)
- Review: Water For Elephants (screenjunkies.com)
- ‘Water for Elephants’ review: High-wire circus act (sfgate.com)
- Movie Review: Water for Elephants (blogcritics.org)
