Penelope Epiphany

I just watched a show called Penelope about a girl that was born with a pig snout. I thought the movie was ho-hum - one of those bubblegum type shows that gave me just enough to chew on, but not enough to make a meal.

One thing I really liked in it was that there was a major change in one of the characters, a photographer who had been stalking the girl's family for years to get a photo of the girl and had even lost an eye trying. Finally Penelope sells her own picture to him, and then once he's got what he's wanted for so long, he doesn't seem to like what he's become and he stops pursuing his life-long obsession.

I know the movie is about many things (accepting others for who they are, liking your imperfect self, liking your kids for who they are), but this photographer is probably my favorite character. He had an epiphany that changed his life, and woke him up to see reality. That is the kind of change I think we all need. I know I fantasize about making a difference in the world, but I always tend to think of big change. I solve the world's problems single-handedly, while showing everyone how humbly I'm taking it.

My ego embarrasses me whenever I think of what Jesus did during His life and what He was actually capable of doing. He really could have brought tons of advancements to the world thousands of years before they happened, but that wasn't in His plans. He could have taken a trip of healing around the world picking up followers wherever He went, but He didn't. He could have even taken the world by force, but not Jesus. God's ways are truly higher than mine! Oh, how I want to be like Jesus!

I won't show Penelope to my kids because it made light of drinking and getting drunk and there were a few mild profanities and some strong emphasis on "kissing='I like you'" towards the end. But if you decide to watch the movie then look for the guy I'm writing about. Maybe you'll catch a glimpse of the same hope in him that I did. It's a hope I also have for myself.


---Johnie