God and Gravity

I love my husband so very much but sometimes, truthfully, the differences between our tastes can be stark. These days I'm driving his Pilot while my van is being rehabbed. Yesterday the kids asked for music (because, wow, he has a 6-CD-player!) so I cycled through.

Disc 1  - Fleetwood Mac (not bad by itself but live...horrible)

Disc 2 - Meatloaf (yes...you read this correctly...who am I living with?)

Disc 3 - Dire Straights (wasn't completely awful but not exactly kids-tunes)

Disc 4 - Kids Tunes! 

Disc 5 - Donna Summer (I love her. Love. We all had fun dancing and I explained the concept of a synthesizer but when I sang, a certain occupant of the seat behind me said, "stop singing! only one little boy sings...not mommy!")

Disc 6 - The soundtrack of Working Girl which is also one of his favorite movies (I know, you're learning lots today!)

So, there's that. Then there is his love of science fiction films. Dating this guy was murder. 2001 is his favorite movie (mine is Out of Africa, just so you know). I said "no" to the Stanley Kubrick marathon when we got to A Clockwork Orange. But, he's my sweet so sometimes he gets his way. On Saturday we sat down to this

Spoiler Alert - if you haven't seen it and don't want to know, leave now.

I'm not sure I've ever shared this but I am terrified of flying. Terrified. Yes, we just took five little kids to Europe and it was that or be sedated the whole time. Worrying about their constant needs made me forget most of the time that we were a million miles (I exaggerate) in the air at -500 degrees (again) traveling 1,000 miles per hour (last time).

So you can imagine how I had to close my eyes immediately following the explosion when Sandra's character was spinning through space. With no chance of stopping. Just round and round and round and ...ug I'm getting nauseous now.

The movie, while causing me to freak out on a regular basis, actually had some redeeming qualities at the end. She met her final obstacle and failed and she gave up...quietly waiting for her life to end. Then, she is visited by Clooney's character who clearly died earlier in the film with the line "the sunrise over the Ganges is beautiful!" (DH missed that so he didn't get the significance.)

Not only does God reach out, through this recently dead companion, to help save her life, the interaction causes a deep change in her character. She goes from wondering if anyone would pray for her when they found out she had died to asking Clooney's character to say hello to her deceased daughter. The understanding and acceptance of the hereafter not only comforts her but compels her to save her own life. Touching.

Fast-forward to Monday when I took the kids to the funeral of our dear neighbor's uncle. It was clear he was a faithful, long-time member of the parish and it was wonderful to see the great number of devout Catholics that showed up to mourn him (sounds crass but it gives me hope that if you live your life a certain way, you collect people who share your views...I would rejoice if at least half the people at my funeral knew what they were doing). I digress.

The pain and sorrow for the loss of this husband/father/uncle was fresh and we grieved along with them but, unlike much of society, it was clear that we weren't all just floating in space with no hope of rescue. There is a God who loves us and there is an eternal reward for those who follow Him.

So we can rejoice in hope that God is always there, even when we feel like we are spinning with no end. What a wonderful feeling.

We are blessed.