Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Christmas Eve




What a beautiful welcome greeted us last night when we had dinner with our neighbours.  Sue is a talented artist and painted these three angels.  It was the angels who rejoiced and sang songs of jubilation on the night of Jesus' birth.





After dinner, Keith and I went to visit his Mum in hospital.  Last Friday she completed five weeks of radiotherapy and was very excited.  That night, in her sleep, she had a massive stroke, which has left her with very little movement down her right side and no speech.  The phone awoke us at midnight - the start of a long and harrowing weekend.  The specialist spoke with Keith and his father that morning and gave very little hope of her speech ever returning or that she would gain much movement on her right side as such a large part of her brain had been affected.

Many tears have been shed and we have all cast our cares into the hands of our great and loving Father and asked for mercy on May, who has had a terrible two years with health issues.  On the Saturday night, there were twenty Condie's gathered in our home.  It is sad that it takes a tragedy such as this to get us together.  My sister-in-law Cas had spent the day cooking and we ate a feast.  The Christmas tree was up and candles adorned our table, but most of our hearts were with May sitting alone in hospital and the uncertain prospect of what a new day would bring.

In the days since, we have watched a miracle take place, as May has gradually done more each day.  Last night, she was moved to a bed where she has spectacular views of the harbour and together we watched the sunset.  She greeted us with a smile that lit her beautiful face. She can nod and shake her head in response to questions.  She is not fully comprehending what is being said, but she is trying so hard.  The physios have been working her hard and she has sat and stood each day since Tuesday.

There are many Condies, but we are trying not to bombard her with visitors and just stay for short visits. Keith has been reading extracts of Psalms and praying with her each visit and she seems to delight in being reminded of God's great and marvellous love and that He is with her at this time.



Sue's angels reminded me of Psalm 91 and the angels that are referred to here, as well as Hebrews 1:14.  The words of this Psalm have brought much comfort to me in these last few days.  There is much sadness in our hearts, but also a deep joy in knowing that our lives are in God's hands completely.  I have been reading Christopher Ash's book Bible Delight and he quotes from an old hymn which seems to capture how I am feeling:

He gives us more grace when the burdens grow greater,
he sends us more strength when the labours increase;
to greater affliction he adds his great mercy,
to multiplied trials, his multiplied peace.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

The True Spirit of Christmas




We bought this nativity yurt in Kyrgyzstan.  This delightful Christian woman Mira made it with her group of women who she has taught the skills of felt making and sewing so they can become self-employed to earn an income for their family.  Most of these women have found Christ during their time with Mira, as she is also a gifted evangelist.  I bought three yurts to bring home and many other beautiful items she had made.  With tears in her eyes, she said to me "I had all these bills to pay, wages to pay and mouths to feed and I had no idea how I would pay them, but I prayed.  God has answered my prayers abundantly."  How much had a spent?  In Australian terms, very little.

We had visited Mira in her home and met her mother, grandmother and extended family.  Most of them lived with Mira in a tiny two room apartment, with a tiny bathroom and kitchen.  This space doubled as her workspace, so they slept on mats which were rolled up each morning and stored.  There was no clutter of "stuff" anywhere.

I came home keen to declutter my life.  However, it has taken considerable time and effort.  The lure of covetness is deceptive - a new book, a cd, new tea - do I really need them?  For a long time, I have been keen to change the gift giving patterns of our family at Christmas.  As I unpacked the yurt and erected it, I remembered Mira and my resolution.

The weeks leading up to Christmas are normally filled with stress, heat and chaos.  Normally I awaken on Christmas morning exhausted and try hard to remember what we are celebrating.  The last four years have not been easy for my family.  We have lost beloved friends - both men in the prime of life, leaving wives and children and friends.  My health has dominated family life for almost four years and erecting a Christmas tree was not high on our list of priorities.

This year, Keith bought us a fresh Christmas tree on our wedding anniversary.  I put beautiful Christmas music on, decorated the tree with decorations filled with memories, erected our nativity yurt and found our advent calendars.  Two of our children were away and our third was involved with the Glebe Street Fair, so they returned to a home filled with the scent of a Christmas tree - much to their delight.

I sat and listened to the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols as celebrated on Christmas Eve in the Chapel of King's College Cambridge and feasted on the words in the Bible readings and songs.  My mind has been filled with the story of the coming of God's saviour - from Isaiah's prophesies to the story of his birth in a stable in Bethlehem.

I have two friends who are "40 weeks heavy with child" and can't imagine either of them giving birth in a stable and then placing their precious child in an animal's feeding box!  But this is what Mary did, and this is how God chose to bring His saviour into the world.  I have slept in a yurt and it smells, and the odours are not particularly pleasant.  Even from his birth, Jesus was "lowly and despised".

I read these words "lowly and despised" this morning in Psalm 119 and they are not referring to Jesus but to us:

"Though I am lowly and despised,
I do not forget your precepts.
Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true.
Trouble and distress have come upon me,
but your commands are my delight."  Psalm 119:141-143

It was shepherds, some wise men and angels who witnessed this remarkable event - Joseph and Mary's relatives were noticeably absent, although they must have been in Bethlehem for the census count.  It was the angels who rejoiced with music and the wise men who brought gifts. This year, my extended family are giving gifts to others who need things more than us.  We have done our shopping from the world's most useful catalogue and purchased a community school, a heifer and a toilet.  We are hoping they bring the same delight to a community that I brought to Mira in Kyrgyzstan.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

The Best Nativity Ever

As I mentioned in my earlier post, finding books in bookstores that depict the story of Jesus has been difficult - they are just not on their shelves. Christine and Erin have reminded me of some gems which were not available for me to purchase.  Here are four books that remind the readers that the best Nativity ever is when baby Jesus is present.

Each tells the story of Jesus' birth simply, compellingly and with magnificent pictures that you and your children will adore and they help tell the story.  
Wombat Divine by Mem Fox, illustrated by Kerry Argent. Seeing Wombat playing baby Jesus is truly delightful. I love how all wombat's friends are keen for him to find a part that he can play in the Nativity Play. Not only is the story of Jesus' birth told in an Australian context with animals that children will know and recognise, but it is summer and the theme of friendship is explored beautifully. 




The Nativity by Julie Vivas is simply wonderful. The words are straight from the bible and the illustrations brings this beautiful story to life - Mary looks pregnant, and exhausted after giving birth and Jesus looks like a real baby. There is an earthiness and honesty expressed here which children will love from an early age and older.


Thank you Christine and Erin for directing me to this book and Wombat Divine.







The Christmas Book as told and illustrated by Dick Bruna is a masterpiece.  He originally published this in 1964 and it was not around when my children were small.  How I wish it had been.  The story of Jesus' birth is told succinctly and with simple clear illustrations.  Thank you Christine for telling me about this book.

Fear Not, Joseph! by Julie Stiegemeyer was published in 2008.  It is for older children as there is more text on each page than on the other three.  However, the illustrations are captivating and I can imagine smaller children in a larger family sitting quite happily listening and looking at the pictures.  Joseph and Mary look like they come from the Middle East and Mary looks pregnant.  The author has relied heavily on Matthew and Luke's account of this story.  It is a beautiful book to cherish with your family.
Each of these books would help families think about Christmas and ensure that our focus is on the birth of the Christ Child.  I have listed other books in another post.  Can I encourage you to visit our local book store and ask that they stock some books about Christmas where the story about the birth of Jesus is told.  Or you could order one as a gift for one of your children and gradually over time develop your own collection of Christmas picture books.  I am going to order these books as gifts myself and suggest that Berkelows, our closest bookstore stocks all these titles.
I have now purchased some wonderful books for my friend which will delight her and her young friends.  My sister and brother in law were with us last night and I was so keen to share these books with them.  They now live up in Newcastle with their two gorgeous children who are 3 1/2 and 14 months.  However, they arrived very late and this morning it was mildly chaotic, so I will do this another time.  Every time I spend time with this family, I wish they lived closer to us.  They lived "just around the corner" until two years ago when a "seachange" called.



Thursday, December 3, 2009

George Herbert and Richard Baxter


George herbert

This week I read Nicole's post about George Herbert in which she shares his poem titled "Christmas".  I was amazed, as I had been meaning to investigate his poetry. Why my interest?
Richard Baxter.  I have discovered that much of my musing leads me to back to good old Richard Baxter and this makes me laugh.  Why?  Because Keith is doing his PhD on this man and he has been a part of our family for the last ten years.  Seriously.  His picture sits on our fridge and I have talked further about what Keith's PhD is about in other posts about Ricky Baxter.  He is not always my favourite person.
Keith uncovered some correspondence between Ricky and a woman called Katherine Gell, a wealthy woman, a committed Christian who had lost a child in his early infancy.  It is a remarkable collection of fourteen letters of which Keith discovered three that were thought to be extant which adds to the dimension of their relationship and what solace and comfort he offered her. Keith speaks about these letters and what his PhD is about in a conversation between himself and Michael Jensen and David Hohne in  The Common Room.
Katherine is deeply ashamed of the doubts she has about her salvation and the salvation of her lost child. She has read Ricky's "Saint's Everlasting Rest" and not found it encouraging as it made her conclude that she was "not in a state of grace".  His letters are a remarkable insight into the work of a pastor minstering to a woman who is depressed and deeply troubled by her spiritual state.
After a period of correspondence, Ricky gives her a copy of George Herbert's Poems as he thinks she might find them helpful.    When thanking him for his gift, she quotes from his poem "Affliction".  Katherine says she was "much affected in the reading and especially at that place 'let me not love thee  if I love thee not.'"  This poem put her "into a very good praying frame which I seldom am in".
Katherine was a wife, mother and keen to love her husband, her children and faced many similar pressures that we face today, and in this season of life depressed, and that she was not doing a very good job coping.  She was also keen to conceal her struggles from the outside world.  Sound familiar?  Katherine's questions and struggles resonate and arouse my interest considerably.
 I am keen to explore the impact that Ricky's correspondence may have had on her after the letters ceased, but I will have to go to England to do this.  Her papers and correspondence are with the Derby Archives. Dream on Sarah.
Back to George Herbert and Richard Baxter.  Ricky turned to Herbert's poetry on the death of his wife Margaret.    He says "I must confess, after all that next to the Scripture Poems, there are none so savoury to me as Mr George Herbert's - he speaks to God like one that really believeth a God, and whose business in the world is most with God."  "Affliction" is a long poem and I need to read it again and ponder its words.  I am looking forward to what poem Nicole shares next and whether she continues with George Herbert.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Hark! The herald Angels Sing


Hark! the Herald Angels Sing: Carols for Christmas was produced by the National Gallery, London.  I bought it for my son who plays the piano beautifully and has done so from a very young age.  It includes the music and words to a number of traditional Christmas carols.  Each carol is illustrated with beautiful paintings that have depicted the story of Jesus' birth.  Each painting is reproduced to an A4 size, so it is wonderful to sit and gaze at each picture and marvel at the detail.
Michael still uses this book for playing at any carol service.
There are three wonderful CDs that we also have enjoyed each December as a family.  Brightest Morning, Perfect Day and Glorious Night are compilations of Christmas music of "peace and tranquility", produced by the ABC.  Not sure of they are still available.  There is a quote from Charles Dickens on one of them from his book 
The Christmas Carol: " I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."  
I think it is sad that most of us approach Christmas with a sense of dread sitting in the pit of our stomach - so much to do, presents to buy and wrap, concerts to attend, extra social gatherings to fit into an already busy schedule, meals and holidays to plan, hot humid weather and long balmy evenings when the last thing that children want to do is go to bed and go to sleep.  These CDs provided me with much solace.  
Years ago, we were captivated by a ten minute segment that used to happen every morning on ABC Classic FM radio when Christopher Lawrence was the presenter.  At 8.10 am each morning, he would play a "swoon" - a piece of music that was simply beautiful and all you wanted to do was sit, listen, relax and be transported momentarily into another world.  We all worked around this spot in our morning routine.  Even the mornings when we all had to be in the car, it would be a race to be seated, buckled and ready to put the radio on for our daily "swoon".  
To me, these Christmas CDs are my Christmas swoon.  I also enjoy those moments when Michael chooses to play some Christmas Carols from this book.  I will sit and listen and sing along.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Children's Christmas books


Wombat plays baby Jesus, originally uploaded by G a r r y.


A friend asked me to buy two children's books about Christmas. She gave me a generous budget - she just wanted them to be overtly "Christian". This type of shopping fills me with much delight. I love reading and reading books to children is one of my passions. I recall hours spent reading book after book to my children when they were small.

We have four good bookstores within walking distance of my home, so I thought I would have no problems at all spending this money. Alas, much to my dismay, I have discovered that the first two had no books in them that I thought were appropriate. I don't recall having this difficulty when my children were small. I am yet to visit the other two shops, so I am hopeful I will find something that will appeal.

My sister in law Julie asks me every year for the names of the books that I have for children about Christmas. She was a primary school teacher and is now a Mum with two small children. I thought I would share my list of books with you, as once again, she asked me for this information. I have given the links to details about each book on Amazon. I am sure they are available locally and could be ordered in, but Amazon is incredibly quick and it is so easy to fill that online basket....

For younger readers, but they will beg you to return to them year after year

The Story of Christmas by Jane Ray. (Orchard Books) This has the lushest illustrations. Mary and Joseph look middle-eastern and Mary actually looks pregnant. There is an earthiness and richness to each picture. For small children, it is the illustrations that tell the story - but the words let the pictures tell the story.

A Christmas Story by Brian Wildsmith. (Oxford University Press) The illustrations are magnificent.

Santa's Favorite Story by Hisako Aoki and Ivan Gantschev. Santa shares the story about the birth of Jesus and that it was God's gift to us on the first Christmas. The illustrations are soft and mellow, its simplicity makes it a wonderful book to read again and again.

Tale of Three Trees by Anglea Elwell Hunt. If you haven't come across this book before, I won't spoil it for you, but it is a wonderful book that can be read at Christmas and Easter - and can be read and understood at many different levels. It moves me everytime I read it.

For the older reader

The Worst Kids in the World by Barbara Robinson. We had a tradition of reading this book every December. It is quirky, funny and filled with unexpected surprises. Christine Jensen gave this book to our family and it has been a wonderful friend to us since then. Christine has introduced my family to many wonderful books and I am forever grateful to her enthusiasm and love for books.

The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado. This is a beautiful story about a crippled lamb who witnesses the birth of Jesus. The illustrations are simply beautiful.

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski. We read this book each December, and each time, I was reduced to tears - it will still move me.

Star of Wonder by Pat Alexander is a delightful anthology of Christmas Stories and Poems for Children (Lion Book). This book was given to the Condie family by the Jensen family.

During December, we would also read the story of Christmas from each gospel. The bible we used depended on rsthe age of our children. When they were very little we used the Beginner's Bible. I might put this pile of books on the table in our lounge room so we can all look at them and be reminded of the wondrous story of Jesus' birth and arrival into our world.

Three Cups of Tea


I first heard about this book after reading an article in the Sydney Morning Herald by Thomas Friedman titled "We cannot abandon the children of Afghanistan" (23 July 2009), in which he refers to this book written by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.

The author had just watched Mortenson open one of his schools for girls that he has built in both Afghanistan and Pakistan over the last few years. I love reading books about Afghanistan and I love cups of tea, so I promptly found the book on Amazon and put it in my shopping basket ready to buy when the dollar was stronger. The dollar finally reached 92 US cents, so I decided it was time to purchase my collection of books in time for some summer reading.

Greg Mortenson grew up in Tanzania with Christian missionary parents. During their time there, his mother built a school and his father built a hospital. He also had a sister Krista who had poor health who died quite young. Each of these things have shaped the type of man Mortenson has become and the decisions he has made about living his life.

In his late twenties, Mortenson was in Pakistan after attempting a climb of K2 one of the most difficult mountains to climb and on failing this was returning to base camp. He stumbled upon the village of Korphe, and was the first white man the villagers had set eyes on. In his state of near collapse, they took him in and cared for him while he recovered. In a serendipitous moment, he realised the children had no school to attend and vowed to raise the money, return and build it for the children he had befriended.

This is the amazing story of the building of this school and many more in the most remote parts of the world. Mortenson learnt a valuable lesson while building his first school in Korphe. Haji Ali is the village leader and he has been watching Mortenson twitching with anxious energy channeling all his efforts into getting the school built as quickly as possible. Haji Ali finally takes him aside to his home where Salika his wife brews makes them a cup of tea. He then says:

"If you want to thrive in Baltistan, you must respect our ways, the first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honoured guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die, Dr Greg, you must make time to share three cups of tea. We may be uneducated. But we are not stupid. We have lived and survived here for a long time."

That day, Haji Ali taught Mortenson the importance of the sharing of three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He took this lesson to heart and from it worked on getting to know the people of this area, befriending them, learning about their traditions and religion. Since this time, Mortenson has built over eighty-one schools. This book has become compulsory reading for senior US military commanders, Pentagon officers in counter-insurgency training and Special Forces deploying to Afghanistan. Having just read it, I can understand why. It is an eye opening and inspiring story of what this unique man has achieved. I felt transported to the remotest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan, I could even smell the room he slept in while in Korphe. This would make a wonderful book to discuss for a book group. The Three Cups of Tea website has additional information and discussion questions.

His new book "Stones into Schools" is being published today. I am adding it to my Amazon basket, but I don't think I will be able to wait....

Monday, November 23, 2009

An Education


An Education, originally uploaded by AsceticMonk.

I saw this film last week and it provides an insightful look into the life of England in 1961. Jenny is working towards her A levels at school. She is sixteen, beautiful and highly intelligent. Her parents have lofty expectations for her, including being offered a place to study at Oxford University. She studies hard, learns the cello and plays in a youth orchestra - all because they will lead "somewhere", not because in and of themselves they are worthwhile activities. However she is bored. All this changes when a chance encounter introduces her to David - an older man who is handsome and very wealthy.

She falls in love and is prepared to abandon "an education" for love and the wild life that includes parties, visits to Paris, sex, lying and deceit but she enjoys it - she is having fun and that she is alive.

Then something happens, which in and of itself is "an education" and Jenny learns about life the hard way.

The film raises a number of questions. One of them includes the pushiness of parents who singlemindedly push their children towards something. One of the more moving moments in the film is when Jenny's father apologises to her and explains that he has been driven by fear and he doesn't want his daughter to be afraid - of what is not clear, but I wonder if it is success, wealth, status and being accepted. Jenny's parents are forced to think about what they really want for their daughter.

The english are so good at indirect communication that is understated and round about. This film is filled with such conversations. I loved it!

There are some delightful moments. Jenny is learning latin, which she loathes and is not particularly good at. One of her new friends, who is a little "dippy" says "in 50 years no one will be speaking latin, not even the latin people". I found this particularly amusing as Keith has been teaching himself latin for the last ten years. I don't know anyone else who takes palm cards to the gym to memorise latin words and phrases.

This is a wonderful movie - enjoyable and thought provoking.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Delighting in the Lord - 1


I have spent much time pondering and meditating on what delighting in the Lord looks like. I read Psalm 37 on New Year's Eve last year and was struck by this verse: "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." ( 4). I have given two talks on this topic and in my devotions have returned to Psalm 37 again and again. I have not had an easy year healthwise, and at times I wondered if God had a sense of humour in challenging me to think about this topic in the midst of a foggy and dysfunctional head. However, I have found that God has continually reminded me to delight in Him and it has really helped me survive.

For my birthday a dear neighbour gave me the book "Bible Delight" by Christopher Ash. It looks at Psalm 119 in 22 bite sized pieces with a couple of questions at the end of each section. I have enjoyed reading this book enormously and my understanding of delighting in the Lord has been enriched.

This morning I was looking at section 10 - verses 73-80:

73 Your hands made me and formed me;
give me understanding to learn your commands.
74 May those who fear you rejoice when they see me,
for I have put my hope in your word.
75 I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous,
and in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
76 May your unfailing love be my comfort,
according to your promise to your servant.
77 Let your compassion come to me that I may live,
for your law is my delight.
78 May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause;
but I will meditate on your precepts.
79 May those who fear you turn to me,
those who understand your statutes.
80 May my heart be blameless toward your decrees,
that I may not be put to shame.

This section and the last one have been about the place of affliction in the Christian life. These verses suggest that God uses times of great difficulty to develop our faith and trust in God and that God uses these times for good - often to help us develop our Christian character. This year I have learnt about delight and appreciating the good things in life - of which there are many, to take the time to savour small moments such as the jacarandas in flower or the smell of a rose in our garden.

I have also been thinking about my bible study group. What a wonderful group of Christian women. During the year, we took it in turns to share about a time of difficulty in our lives and what God taught us through it. I found out so much about these women, but more than this, I was enormously encouraged by seeing how they have persevered - I rejoice in them and from their stories I have gained much encouragement to persevere myself - because they have!

Friday, November 13, 2009

Julie and Julia


poached eggs - 5, originally uploaded by not a hipster.


I confess, I have never poached an egg, until last week when I attempted to poach an egg and it was a complete disaster. I wasted four eggs in the process and was left feeling rather frustrated. After all, I thought I could cook anything. They are my favourite way of eating eggs and this is what I order when eating breakfast out at a cafe. So, it was with much enjoyment that I watched Julie in Julia and Julieattempt to poach an egg with similar results to mine.

It is a delightful film that combines my interests of letter writing, blog writing and cooking together. However, it is more than this, it is also about two relationships between couples who love each other deeply. It is refreshing to see a film that portrays relationships positively. There are two stories that merge. The first is about Julia Child, set in Paris in the early 1950s. Julia is encouraged by her husband to pursue an interest that will occupy her days. She tries hat making, before she settles on learning the art of french cooking - because, as she and her husband both know, she loves food and eating! Julia then begins an eight year journey of writing a cook book in English explaining how to cook french cuisine.

The second story is set in 2002, in Queens New York during the aftermath of 9/11. Julie had been traumatised by this event and is taking time out from writing to answer phone calls for an insurance company. However, her real passions are cooking and writing. She is fascinated by Julia Childs, who wrote the first book for American housewives in english explaining the intricacies of french cookery. With the encouragement of her husband, she creates a blog in which she endeavours to cook every single recipe in Julia's cook book in the next year and document her efforts.

If you love the idea of living in Paris or living in New York, this film will appeal, as there are wonderful glimpses of both cities and their food. I am inspired to get a copy of Julia Child's cookbook - I am not sure that I have ever wanted to bone a duck, but this book will explain how it is done. However, there are all sorts of other tips such as drying pieces of meat with a dry cloth or paper towel to help the meat brown. I might even learn how to make that poached egg, so that I don't have to go out for breakfast to eat one!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Revolutionary Road

Revolutionary Road

It could be about a war with a title like this and indeed it is about a war that exists behind closed doors – the combatants are a young husband and his wife, who supposedly have it all.
April and Frank live on Revolutionary Road, a quiet beautiful street in an affluent suburb filled with other young couples and they seemingly have it all – a comfortable home, gorgeous small children, money, and work. April is a stay at home Mum who plays house and Frank has a job with prospects of advancement up the ranks. But appearances can be deceptive and all is not what it seems.
The book of Ecclesiastes paints a similar picture of life: “meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” (Ecc 1:2) The writer looks at different ways of trying to find meaning in life – seeking after wisdom, or the pleasures of life, or through work, or by gathering wealth, and concludes that none of these things will provide meaningful fulfilment.
It is Frank’s birthday and he tries to drown his unhappiness and emptiness by spending the day with a beautiful girl he has met through work and drinking himself insensible and then seducing her. He returns home to a wife who is making one final effort at restoring the magic that was in their relationship at the beginning.
During the day, April came across a photo of Frank from his youth in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. She remembers a conversation in which his face lit up with excitement as he described the wonder of Paris. She thinks if they return to Paris, he might rediscover this joy and exuberance. April convinces Frank that they can sell their home, he can leave his job and go and live in Paris – she can work, while he “finds himself” whatever that is. There is an element of a “chasing after the wind” in this move but they are determined to give it a go and the question is, will this tactic work? Will they be able to replace the fighting words and vicious attacks and salvage what is lost from their relationship?
April and Frank are a personification of what happens to many couples in our world today. They meet, fall in love and start their married life with a dream of what their life will become.
Before long, the monotony and reality of the patterns of life begin to wear them down. They become disappointed with what their life becomes, and that they have been replaced by shattered dreams. Most of the time, they are tired and worn down and are wondering what happened to their shared dreams. It has become empty and hopeless and they begin to take their unhappiness out on each other and their home is filled with fighting and verbal attacks. The love they had for each other is replaced by contempt and loathing.
Revolutionary Road is set in America in the 1950s and the book of Ecclesiastes was written centuries ago, but both are equally relevant to Sydney in 2009. An acquaintance went to see Revolutionary Road and left in floods of tears and said it described her home. How sad is that?
The film ends without hope and the people’s lives are still empty. Not one of the characters has figured out how to make the monotony and rhythms of life any different. God makes no appearance in this film and it is almost in His absence that He is patently there. It is only with God that hopelessness can be replaced with hope and emptiness replaced by a deep contentment.
If Revolutionary Road is a confronting film for Christian couples, there is a possibility of change and reconciliation. You don’t have to remain in the war zone; you can call a truce and seek peace. You can be the one to begin to treat the other differently. It won’t happen overnight but is possible to retreat, think and pray and ask that God will transform the relationship into one that is spirit-filled and brings delight to His name.