A Zombie Movie Changed My Life
A few years ago I watched a zombie movie and I was not the same after. But wait. Let me begin earlier. My date had worked on the movie--so we went to opening night. If I didn't like him, I probably wouldn't have seen it.
This is not a movie review. I honestly can't remember the name of the movie. But I will look it up for your sakes.... Ah ha! It was I Am Legend.
I guess I like Will Smith, but it wasn't Will so much as Bob (Marley) that made an impact on me--that, and one sentence uttered by a woman at the end.
Bob Marley has a big part in the movie--even though he is dead, his legend lives on. Maybe that is what the title is all about. I'm not sure. Anyway, I have always liked Bob's music, but my baby girl, from the womb, was a Marley fanatic. Any time he came on she'd go crazy with happiness and I could feel her endorphins in me. So I own a few albums and Bob has a special place in my heart.
His music was a big part of the movie, and so was his life. At one point Will's character quotes Bob and I almost cried. Okay i did. I still do. Here is a clip.
But the part that really changed me was when, after months maybe even years of not being sure if he is the only living soul on the earth who is not a zombie, a woman and her son show up at a key moment and save his life. He thinks she found him because of the AM radio broadcasts that he has been sending out every day. Later he learns she never heard them. He asks how she knew to come. She looks him in they eye and answers, "God told me to."
It was amazing.
Something went through me as she said it. I so admired her boldness, the purity of her response. No apology or equivocation. I realized that as a faithful person in a world that seems to not believe in much, I sometimes couched my language. I would say things like, "I felt inspired to..." or "I had the intuition," or "it was a spiritual prompting...." I loved how she just said it like it was: God told me to.
That is the day I started to change my language. And that's when the gift of prophecy really became a reality to me. I realized that I don't care what people think about how I talk about God. I care how I think about it. And I wanted to be like that woman.
God talks to me. I listen. I listen to others who listen. Sometimes he talks through them. I read spiritual texts. I go to church. I meditate. I believe in a modern prophet who is amazing and I like to listen and read his words. Recently our church just had it's semi-annual general conference. I love listening to the talks that are broadcast.
Sometimes around general conference time, I hear people express a wish that so-and-so was watching this or that talk. Well, the truth is that it's for you, not anyone else. And whoever so-and-so is that you wish was watching is not forgotten by God. God reaches people through whatever they are watching, when they are ready. I have a firm testimony of this principle. Whether it is Lilo and Stitch 2 or A Wrinkle in Time or a Zombie movie.
I have a friend who had some bad experiences in life and left the church for a while and became an athiest. Then one day she was watching a movie and there was God character in the movie. He was not your usual God character. She said he was kind of silly and walked around like Charlie Chaplin. Doesn't sound spiritual, does it? Well, she said that watching that movie gave her hope that maybe if God existed and He was like that, she could believe in Him. That was the beginning of her return to active membership and temple attendance. She was doing amazing last time we talked.
And the Lilo and Stitch Reference was personal--it also touched me at a critical moment on my journey. Here is the clip:
(Unfortunately it is in Russian or something. If anyone wants to translate in the comments, I'd love it!)
And lately it seems like everything I choose to watch has some message just for me from God. Of course, I like to say I'm choosy about movies---but as I say that I laugh. HA! None of the above movies would be considered high art. So I'm not doing to judge anyone's movie choices. That is not what this is about. The point I am making is that it's okay. Every little thing is gonna be alright. God is talking to everyone. When it's time, everyone will hear.
This is not a movie review. I honestly can't remember the name of the movie. But I will look it up for your sakes.... Ah ha! It was I Am Legend.
I guess I like Will Smith, but it wasn't Will so much as Bob (Marley) that made an impact on me--that, and one sentence uttered by a woman at the end.
Bob Marley has a big part in the movie--even though he is dead, his legend lives on. Maybe that is what the title is all about. I'm not sure. Anyway, I have always liked Bob's music, but my baby girl, from the womb, was a Marley fanatic. Any time he came on she'd go crazy with happiness and I could feel her endorphins in me. So I own a few albums and Bob has a special place in my heart.
His music was a big part of the movie, and so was his life. At one point Will's character quotes Bob and I almost cried. Okay i did. I still do. Here is a clip.
But the part that really changed me was when, after months maybe even years of not being sure if he is the only living soul on the earth who is not a zombie, a woman and her son show up at a key moment and save his life. He thinks she found him because of the AM radio broadcasts that he has been sending out every day. Later he learns she never heard them. He asks how she knew to come. She looks him in they eye and answers, "God told me to."
It was amazing.
Something went through me as she said it. I so admired her boldness, the purity of her response. No apology or equivocation. I realized that as a faithful person in a world that seems to not believe in much, I sometimes couched my language. I would say things like, "I felt inspired to..." or "I had the intuition," or "it was a spiritual prompting...." I loved how she just said it like it was: God told me to.
That is the day I started to change my language. And that's when the gift of prophecy really became a reality to me. I realized that I don't care what people think about how I talk about God. I care how I think about it. And I wanted to be like that woman.
God talks to me. I listen. I listen to others who listen. Sometimes he talks through them. I read spiritual texts. I go to church. I meditate. I believe in a modern prophet who is amazing and I like to listen and read his words. Recently our church just had it's semi-annual general conference. I love listening to the talks that are broadcast.
Sometimes around general conference time, I hear people express a wish that so-and-so was watching this or that talk. Well, the truth is that it's for you, not anyone else. And whoever so-and-so is that you wish was watching is not forgotten by God. God reaches people through whatever they are watching, when they are ready. I have a firm testimony of this principle. Whether it is Lilo and Stitch 2 or A Wrinkle in Time or a Zombie movie.
I have a friend who had some bad experiences in life and left the church for a while and became an athiest. Then one day she was watching a movie and there was God character in the movie. He was not your usual God character. She said he was kind of silly and walked around like Charlie Chaplin. Doesn't sound spiritual, does it? Well, she said that watching that movie gave her hope that maybe if God existed and He was like that, she could believe in Him. That was the beginning of her return to active membership and temple attendance. She was doing amazing last time we talked.
And the Lilo and Stitch Reference was personal--it also touched me at a critical moment on my journey. Here is the clip:
(Unfortunately it is in Russian or something. If anyone wants to translate in the comments, I'd love it!)
And lately it seems like everything I choose to watch has some message just for me from God. Of course, I like to say I'm choosy about movies---but as I say that I laugh. HA! None of the above movies would be considered high art. So I'm not doing to judge anyone's movie choices. That is not what this is about. The point I am making is that it's okay. Every little thing is gonna be alright. God is talking to everyone. When it's time, everyone will hear.
SO TRUE!!!
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