1 Life Your Choice

"Hey Mr. Grumpy Gills, when life gets you down you know what you’ve got to do?"

HAVE YOU EVER DISCOVERED PROFOUND WISDOM IN AN UNLIKELY PLACE? This seems to happen to me a lot more since becoming a father. With parenthood comes an eye opening venture into many areas you have not visited since you were a child; one of these areas is the realm of Disney / Pixar movies. While I did not completely abstain from these movies when I didn’t have children, I definitely never watched the same movie over 10 times as a single person. One thing you discover on your tenth time of watching any movie is that you pick up on the subtle lessons of the script. And while the lesson today is anything but subtle, it is definitely one that I think a lot of people need to be reminded of.

JUST KEEP SWIMMING! This was Dory’s words of wisdom to Marlin (Nemo's father) in the 2003 blockbuster, Finding Nemo. Now much like all of us, Marlin didn’t want to listen to advice in the midst of his devastation; in fact, he didn’t want to do anything. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt paralyzed in your relationships, spiritual walk, work environment or health goals? You are not alone! All of us at one point or another feel like just sitting on a rock and hosting our own pity party; it is natural and even sometimes justified. I won’t pretend that bad things don’t happen to good people; but our response to those bad things in life eventually define the final outcomes.

EVERYONE NEEDS A FRIEND TO GRAB THEIR FIN NOW AND THEN! Even though Marlin didn't feel like moving, Dory grabbed his fin anyway and forced him to continue with wonderful words of advice - just keep swimming! It is no surprise that this same wisdom is found in the Bible (as all true wisdom is). Philippians 3:12-14 states "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Paul was the friend the church of God in Philippi needed - he "grabbed their fin" and encouraged them to "press on", or as Dory would say, "just keep swimming!" Let me encourage you today to do the same! Is your marriage on the rocks? Just keep swimming! Do you feel like God has left you in the dark on your own? Just keep swimming! Are you at your breaking point at work? Just keep swimming! Do you feel like you aren't getting anywhere by exercising and eating right? Just keep swimming! How? You keep swimming by continuing to do the right thing - you will breakthrough if you don't give up!