I recently started on a draft for this entry, but when I logged in again, it somehow disappeared. Anyway, decided to start again from scratch though some of the inspiration has probably been lost... 1
For those of you who have watched the show "UP" you will probably agree with me that it was truly a hilarious and UPlifting (could not resist it) movie. For the benefit of those who did not catch the movie, it was about a lovely couple, Carl & Ellie, who grew up with dreams of one day becoming great explorers to search for undiscovered exotic lands. One destination they were especially fond of was a place called "Paradise Falls", a cliff overlooking a magnificent waterfall. They dreamed of one day finding and building their dream home at paradise falls itself. However, as they both started to get caught up with the busyness of life, getting married, buying a house etc... their dreams of exploring the world, though not forgotten, began to fade into the background.
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Just when it seemed that they were ready to embark on their adventure, life took an unexpected turn when Ellie, fell sick and died leaving Carl a sad and lonely man. After some years, when Carl was under threat of being evicted from his home, he decides to attach hundreds of colourful ballons to his house, to float away in search of Paradise Falls; an unfulfilled childhood dream that he and Ellie once shared. And so the adventure begins...
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I must say that I was deeply touched by the movie. As I lay in bed that night, I thought of all the dreams that I had since I a young kid. Dreams of becoming a missionary, dreams of travelling the world, people I love.... I felt a tinge of sadness and fear. The fear of waking up one day old and foggy, realising that all I had left was a bag full of unfulfilled dreams, ambitions and neglected relationships. Many times it takes something drastic to rattle us before we come back to our senses and remember of all the things that are truly important to us. So often people only begin to purue the things that are close to their heart when they discover that they are dying of cancer or some other dreaded disease; I am so glad my mum managed to meet the people she loved and see the cherry blossoms in Japan (something she always dreamnt of) before she passed away; things that mattered to her.
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What will it take to move you to do the things that are close to your heart? What will it take before you decide to mend that broken relationship, go on that dream vacation, tell that someone that you love and appreciate her/him, forgive that someone whom have hurt you, do something radical for God?
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I pray that it will not take a crisis, like Carl, before we decide to grab onto all those colourful balloons and live the life and dreams that God has placed in our hearts.
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"For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope" Jer 29:11
