Follow the shells...
"Mama, come here
Approach, appear
Daddy, I'm alone
Cause this house don't feel like home
If you love me, don't let go
Whoa, if you love me, don't let go"
-Unsteady by the X Ambassadors
I love going to the movie theater. Recently, I got to take our 4 year old to see Finding Dory. I had such a great time getting to watch him taking in the magic of the movie experience. One of the many benefits of being a parent is stumbling into those places where you find a mutual love together with your child. It revealed itself as one of those moments that I know will be etched in my mind forever. We both enjoyed this movie greatly, but I would imagine for different reasons.
If you saw Saving Nemo, then you remember that Dory is a fish that can't remember. More specifically, she has no short term memory. This movie gives her back story as she was a very young fish that got separated from her parents many years ago. Her memory issues prevent her from being able to retrace her steps; and so, she is left with only vague shadows of her family. The story line of this movie picks up where she begins the uncertain journey across the ocean to find her family.
One of the main themes running through this movie was the bond between parent and child. You got to see Dory battle with her own fractured mind and work towards finding the trail that would lead her home to her family. She eventually remembers that her dad told her to follow the shells home. It is the ocean's version of the bread crumb trail. If she will look down, then the shells will lead her back to her parents.
“We will never forget you, Dory. And we know you will never forget us.” –Dory’s Mom
There is a pointed scene where she follows the shells that lead her to her home and finds no one is there. That is, until she sees her parents, years after she wandered off, are still laying out trails of shells that lead to their door. They still love her, and they still hold onto the hope that she will be able to find her way back to them. The number of rows of shells leading to their house share a profound truth, namely, the fish that can't remember was never forgotten. They never stopped loving her, no matter how far off she had wandered. They only wanted her to come back home.
You aren't supposed to cry at children's movies; and so, I will give no certain evidence that any tears were shed in the theater that day. But, there is something that is incredibly moving about a love that won't give up, won't let go, and brings with it a powerful persistence that can't be stopped. As both a parent and a child, I could relate to that message.
As a child, I am enamored by that kind of love that is relentless in its pursuit of us. I think that all of us have felt moments where we wonder if those around us will reject us. At what point will I become unlovable? A question that terrifies all of us if we are honest with ourselves. We were made to live in community and long for lasting relationships. We want to know that someone will continue to love us no matter what...
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." -Romans 5:8
There is no theological truth that packs more punch than the simple truth of how much God loves us, that he was willing to sacrifice his son for us. We can fall into the trap of thinking that we have sinned our way out of his good graces. We have done something that separates us from the love of Christ. At that moment, we are betrayed by our feelings, and we need to look again to the cross.
"Deep down in our souls we must get hold of the wonderful truth that our spiritual failures do not affect God’s love for us one iota – that His love for us does not fluctuate according to our experience. We must be gripped by the truth that we are accepted by God and loved by God for the sole reason that we are united to His beloved Son." -Jerry Bridges
Francis Thompson wrote a poem entitled, "The Hound of Heaven" where Jesus is depicted as if he were a hunting dog pursuing a rabbit. The analogy is that he pursues each of us with that sort of persistence. Even though we stray after our idols, but he continues to love and pursue us. These words are hauntingly true for me: "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love." The Good Shepherd leaves the 99 in pursuit of the wandering one.
Secondly, as a parent, I was moved by how Dory's parents continued to love and pursue her. It was a powerful message that I was glad that both myself and my son were able to see and hear. I want this to be the type of love that he and his brother feel now and continues to know long after they have moved out of our home. I can remember a low point in my life where I was unemployed and my career had completely stalled. It felt like rock bottom. I can still hear my Mother saying to me, "No matter what you do, you always have a place here in our home. That will never change."
However, we can quickly and easily forget that someone loves us and believes in us. I want my boys to always feel loved and accepted. All of us long for that for our children because we want it for ourselves. When the circumstances of life are rough, then we can hear lies that seem to be saying things to us that make us feel unloved and orphaned. We can feel abandoned and alone. It is why all of us need those shells in the sand that lead us back to the truth not just to the bond between parent and child, but to God's love as well.
“It’s there, I know it is because when I look at you, I can feel it. And I, I look at you and…I’m home.” -Dory
His truth is one that stands the test of time. It is truth spoken from Him who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Truth that says, "But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." Those are the traits of a Father who never tires of laying out shells so that we can find our way back home to Him. It is a truth that ignites the hearts of both parents and children. Let me close with a powerful dialogue from the movie The Water Diviner. In this movie, An Australian father goes to Turkey after the battle of Gallipoli in search of his 3 sons that are still missing. He is relentless in his search, and he forces those around him to keep searching for his sons even as it seems pointless to them. Please read the exchange between two of the men in Turkey that he pleads with for help, and may we all see our Heavenly Father's love in this exchange: