Freedom Writers

Have I stood in the face of adversity or have I bowed down to my fears making them my personal stumbling blocks. I just finished the movie "Freedom Writers" which deals with a classroom full of students that had believed they had nothing going for them. Their english teacher believed in them and took them to depths of success that none ever expected. 

I can't help but think what makes this story so amazing. Why would a story like this make a grown girl cry every time she watched it... not just once but multiply times? I ask myself every time I watch this movie if I ever experienced such adversity that the only response is standing up rather than being a coward. Have I? I haven't been shot at, I haven't seen anyone die, and I haven't stepped inside a police station... well once but it was just some offices for legal paper work. 

This movie hits me mostly because it reminds me that there are those in this world that do not have the blessings that I do. They live in this world filled with fears and disappointments unlike anything I have ever imagined. So what makes me feel so connected to this story... these people... their lives... 

It's a story of freedom. Freedom from our fears and disappointments. Who can't relate to that? Each of us has gone through tough times and we all have to deal somehow with those things that long to hold us back. Things that keep us chained to the dark, evil world in this movie no longer have the ability to hold us captive. Rather these chains have been broken by rays of hope found in these students new found freedom of having a voice. So yes the connecting factor for me is the overwhelming sense of freedom and hope. However, the freedom that I talk about is not a self induce type of freedom that you see lining the bookshelves. Rather it is from the solitary vision that I have of dwelling within the freedom that comes from my Lord and Savior. 

See I don't have to stow away from the fears and disappointments any more because I have a strength that surpasses all understanding. A peace that brings me joy in the midst of turmoil and a compassion that comes from the mercy granted me. That is what motivates me to do my best and choose life. 

That is why I feel so connected to this story.  It's a story of freedom but it is also a story of hope. A hope that shines into a world that desperately needs it. And that is a story to cry tears of joy over. A story to believe in. A story to stand up and tell in-spite of any adversity that may come my way. You may ask what story that is... It is a story of a Savior for a world in need of saving.