Nathan and I watched "A Beautiful Mind" last week. Neither of us had seen it before, but we received a hard drive from his friend Sean with a ton of movies on it and have been so grateful to have it here since we don't have TV. (Don't die of a heart attack. We haven't had TV since we have been married. We actually both didn't have TV for a year before we got married too. We know people think we are crazy, but we are happy to not have a(nother) time sucker around.) It was a very sad but hopeful story. I was so struck by Alicia, the wife. What a woman of strength. I think she had one of the best lines in a movie I have ever heard. I read many sentences in books all of the time that I wish I could engrave in my mind forever because they are so powerful and full of truth, but it's not often that I am wanting to write down a line in a movie. Maybe I just don't watch enough of the right movies. Here's part of what she said to someone who asked her how she was dealing with her husband's schizophrenia:
"...I look at him and I force myself to see the man I married. And he becomes that man. He's transformed into someone I love. And then I'm transformed
into someone who loves him."
Just let that sink in for a minute. Everyone gets frustrated with their spouse. Or even someone else in their life. Anyone else. But is this not what God calls us to in marriage and furthermore in relationships? Maybe it would be more theologically accurate to say "...I force myself to see him the way God sees him..." When you look at your spouse and realize he/she is a child of God, your perspective can change even in the most extreme circumstances. That visual transformation in your mind can cause a real transformation in your heart, which can then (but not always) cause a real transformation in your spouse's heart.
All I wanted to say is this quote stuck with me long after the movie was over, and I am terrible at remembering much of movies once the credits start rolling.
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