Twelve Things I Learned from Pixar's Up

(I doubt you can consider some of these points spoilers but consider yourselves warned...)

1. 1. Plastic garden hoses are made of very, very strong stuff.
2. 2. Old men in canes are also almost as strong, apparently.
3. 3. It is possible to rip wooden houses off of their foundations, with just the right amount of helium-filled balloons, and can be made to fly across two continents.
4. 4. We all know that babies are delivered to their mommies by storks. What we didn't previously know is that all babies, human or animal, are made by chubby, cuddly, smiley Clouds (capital C) who delicately sculpt clouds (lowercase c) and electrify them into life.
5. 5. If you don't want the magic to fade, you never want to spend more than a few hours with a person you idolize or highly respect. If you do, you find out sooner or later that they are faulty humans too.
6. 6. It is possible for childhood friends to become lifelong partners.
7. 7. Dreams and ambitions are good things to have but one must not forget to live out life in the process. Obsessing over our dreams may make us miss what made our lives the most meaningful, the most real, and the most happy.
8. 8. Sometimes, the most boring things in life are what we cherish the most.
9. 9. Unachieved dreams don't necessarily translate to failure.
10. 10. The best way to go through life is to have your very own Adventure Book. Mine come in small, black notebooks called Moleskines.
11. 11. No matter how old we get, as long as we have breath, there will always be new adventures for us to experience.
12. 12. Growing old can be quite an adventure in itself.

Looking back through my 28 years of existence, I have no other way to describe it but as an adventure. Until recently, I've lived a mostly boring life; it was usually just about school, family, and church. But then I remember Lesson #8 and I realize I wouldn't change a thing, given the chance. As I look forward to the coming years, I'm sure the sovereign Lord has more in store for me. I know some events will be sad, some will be painful, and a good chunk will be happy. But each event should be taken as an adventure given as a gift by the Creator of Adventure. Each thing that occurs in our lives happen because He allowed it and He has a purpose for it, a place for it in the grander scheme of things. Each must be cherished and treasured, the most striking recorded into our Adventure Books. I look forward to having more adventures with my Lord. I still have many dreams and ambitions and I still want many things. But by the grace of God, I live each day trusting that He wants His absolute perfect best for me, which may not necessarily mean what I want for myself, and that He will lead me there.

Everyone must go see Up. It's an especially great movie to see on one's birthday.

It was, indeed, a happy 28th birthday for me, a happy 28 years that have passed.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Posted via email from karlmd's posterous