A couple of days ago, my husband and I watched the movie, The Lovely Bones directed by Peter Jackson.  If you’ve never seen the movie, Stop reading because I am going to talk about it in some detail.  Spoiler alert -you’ve been warned!

The movie tells the story of a 14 year old girl who is abducted and eventually murdered by a serial killer.  The story is unique in that it is narrated by the girl from her own perspective as she takes the audience in an emotional roller coaster from the moment she is abducted until the very end of the ordeal.  I was disturbed to no end after the movie ended!  Movies like that are hard for me to watch, maybe because I am a mother and that is a mother’s worst nightmare.  Perhaps what bothered me so, is how probable that plot is. There is a real darkness one wishes didn’t exist in the world we live in but unfortunately, it does exist.

It would be hard to explain the downpour of emotions one feels when presented with such a probability.  For me, it was like fierce waves crashing on a rocky coast; hard and wild!  At times in the story, I found myself quite angry, then sad, and then hopeful…Is funny I said hopeful, because from the beginning I knew the outcome of the story, yet I wanted to believe there would be a way out or an escape from the horror. There was no gore and no extreme violence but what was left to the imagination.  In fact, the cinematography was quite beautiful.  The images of heaven and the journey to get there were remarkably soothing and help ease the sadness of the story.

Afterwards, in my room, when I was finally able to close my eyes, I began to feel compassion for the state of humanity.  The truth is we need God desperately.  The victim and the killer.  The saint and the sinner. We may look different and our sins may seem to have different degrees of evil, but sin is sin and we were all created by the same hand.  I think is interesting that we feel disgust and hatred for those who act violently and hurtful and yet, when we cheat, gossip, or judge others, we seem to have all the right excuses as to why that sin is less than or should be judged with a different balance system. 

We are broken people!  Eden left us broken and the only redemption for our sorry state is the cross.

When I find I have violated my commitments and/or stepped over my boundaries, I run to the cross.  I cannot find forgiveness more pure that when it comes from a savior who understands my shortcomings.  When I look at my life, It amazes me that God would love me regardless of the messes I get myself into.  Murder, cheating, lies, gossip, adultery – we are all so capable of all those and more!  It is but by the grace of God, we are not consumed!  It is but the grace of God that takes these lovely bones and makes something beautiful out of us.