The Fault in Our Stars: Make-A-Wish: Pearl Harbor

Have you seen The Fault in Our Stars?
One of the many things that gripped my heart during this film was the reference to the Make-A-Wish foundation. Just 5 days ago I was standing with my family in Pearl Harbor. One of the families on our tour was on a Make-A-Wish trip. The smooth head of a beaming child in a wheelchair tends to put life into perspective, as does the reality of walking above the grave of those who lost their lives on the USS Arizona. Time stood still for just a moment, as I absorbed a memorial wall honoring those blindsided on Dec. 7, 1941 in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. My children stood looking up at the names. The giant marble tomb stone towering above them suddenly made it very personal. Each name represented someone’s child: a child that was growing up with hopes and dreams, a child that fell down, scrapped their knees, got splinters, caught colds, laughed until they wet their pants, cried crocodile tears, had favorite songs and snacks, probably first loves and heart breaks. No doubt the family pushing that wheelchair had their own “Pearl Harbor” the day they were blindsided with a diagnosis! The Japanese awoke a “Sleeping Giant” and America fought back! Nothing awakens a “Sleeping Giant” in parents faster than an attack on their children! We fight cancer with modern medicine but we also fight cancer by keeping hope alive! The Make-A-Wish foundation keeps a child dreaming, keeps the child holding on to hope, while fully experiencing the present.
The Bible says:
Prov 29:18 “Without vision, people perish…”
Prov 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick…”
The Bible also says:
Jer 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares The Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Romans 15:13 “May the God of Hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust HIM; so that hope overflows from you by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

So how do The Fault in Our Stars, Pearl Harbor, the Make-A-Wish foundation and God’s Word connect? In the midst of great tragedy, hope rises! When blindsided, we fight in the present, push through the pain, and recognize beauty in the gift of a moment. We push each other’s metaphorical wheel chairs into places where dreams come true and we set our sights on our true homeland in Heaven, overflowing hope in our wake!

Although I felt the “The Fault in our Stars” missed an opportunity to give Christ authorship of hope, I still walked away giving HIM “hope creds”. The film did have some profound quotes. One being: “Some infinities are bigger than others”. To me that simply means our “forever” is specific to us! How we define “bigger” is relative! The Lord knows the number of days each of us have on this earth. That is the beginning of our “infinity” here that culminates in glory on the other side of eternity! The names on the USS Arizona memorial, the child in his Make-A-Wish t-shirt, and my own children all have a set number of days on this planet! We make them count by the love we live, not the duration of our stay!

One last quote from the film:
“There’s no way of knowing that your last good day is YOUR LAST GOOD DAY! At the time, it is just another good day.”
Dec. 7, 1941 was “just another good day.” A wish come true vacation is “just another good day” and a family tour on a senior trip is “just another good day!” May we embrace every day as if it’s “our last good day”, not to dread woefully but to tread lovingly! When we view every scenario as if it were our own children experiencing it, our empathy moves us “to move”! Allowing our hearts to break, compels us to seek healing and hope. An infinite supply of healing and hope is readily available in our Heavenly Father! Fill up and flow!

Dear Lord,
Thank you for those who sacrificed and are sacrificing to protect our country and see justice in this world. Thank you for organizations like the Make-A-Wish foundation that offer hope and invest in the dreams of our children, who think that dreaming could be over. Thank you for films that address hard things, offer hope, highlight the gift of “a moment”, and make us ponder eternity. Thank you for my family, our “moments”, and for opening my eyes to value each day as “our last good day” in order to love extravagantly into infinity!
Psalm 119:45 “Remember your Word to your servant for you have given me hope!” We can’t remember something we’ve never known. Thank you for your promises in your Word. Help me write them on my heart and in remembering them, have hope!!!
Amen

GoGod