the kite runner...

last night i sat and watched .."the kite runner"...
it was not an easy movie to watch...part of it is in english...part of it is sub-titled...

because of this...you end up paying closer attention to the movie than you expect..and while the story is difficult to be comfortable with at times...it did cause me to stop and think...

so here's the thing about movies like the "kite runner"...some people find it hard to watch movies based on real life situations or stories...entertainment should be entertainment...not necessarily thought provoking...and other people say...there is enough hardship in the world...why watch it when it's all around you...
for me...
i find myself drawn to real life stories...both joyful and sad...to me..they are a part of the human experience...oh and don't get me wrong...i absolutely love mindless entertainment...anyone who knows me knows this as a fact...still...i also love something that causes me to think...a story that...in the end...reminds me...of things i should always consider...but sometimes forget to...

family is important...where we come from...leads us to where we are going...each experience good or bad...prepares us for the future...when we don't chose to do the right thing...there may be no redemption from our choice..but that doesn't mean...we can't find redemption in a future decision...and while it doesn't erase the mistake...the future still allows us to find hope...if in nothing else.. through the lessons we learn...

so anyway...i'm watching this movie...and i'm thinking....do we all really realize we are all God's children....when it's late on a saturday night...and i'm safe and warm on the couch...and i know my children and grand-children....are in the same kind of place...it doesn't mean...they won't have struggles...because they will and do...but...overall...from day to day...our struggles in life are nothing compared to the struggles of people in other parts of the world...

i bring this up because of my discomfort at times with the phrase.."God bless america"....and it's not because i don't think God should bless america...or that i don't think america deserves God's blessings...for me my discomfort with this...is sometimes i see this phrase as more of a plea when i think it should be a phrase of thanking God for blessing our lives...most times i wonder...why...we just don't ask God to bless all his children...instead of a particular country or people...we have a lot to be thankful for here...i know i do...i just wish the request for blessing was more global than local....


tonights music....
pamela martin..."butterfly"...

"...if a soft place is what you want then,
a soft place is what you will find.
letting go is always the hardest,
like caterpillar to butterfly..."