Stranger Than Non-fiction

This past weekend, we went to see the movie Stranger Than Fiction, ...and we're still talking about it. It's one of those movies in which I think you're not supposed to sit there and figure out why it is not plausible, but instead try to determine the deeper message. Without giving away much of the plot, suffice it to say that it deals with free will, and the question of how much control we actually have over our own lives. The premise is posed that our lives are either a comedy or a tragedy, and the main character in the film sets out to determine in which category his life falls, because this will impact the ending. There is lots of litrary symbolism going on, including the fact that the character of the author in the story (portrayed by Emma Thompson) wears no make-up. I won't spoil the fictional movie by telling the ending, but I'm still pondering the deeper message.

Also this past weekend, my husband and I both read the book In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day, by Mark Batterson, ...and we're still talking about it. Interestingly, Batterson also touches on the issue of free will and control of our lives. In his final chapter, he says, "God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time... I have an unshakable sense of destiny because I know that as long as I pursue God's calling on my life, then God is ultimately responsible for getting me where He wants me to go." There's no ending to spoil, because with Him, the possibilities are endless. And I embrace that non-fictional message!