Marlon and Dory

I was watching "Finding Nemo" with my son, ( I really love that movie) and, as always, I was humored by the contrast between Dory and Marlon.   Marlon is passionate about finding his son, Nemo, while Dory is suffering from amnesia, so she basically lives her life from moment to moment.  Marlon wants to be the perfect parent, while Dory doesn't desire anymore than to live in the moment...because in her mind, that's all she has or can remember. 

If you have seen the movie, one of my favorite scenes in it was the one with the whale. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYoUkGRFmR0

I have posted a You Tube Link above. Let me make it very clear, I DO NOT HAVE RIGHTS TO THIS SHOW, IT BELONGS TO DISNEY...That being said, view it at your own risk...now, moving on...

The scene with the whale gave alot of examples of how some of us can be as parents. 

Lesson 1: When Marlon and Dory were unsure of where to go, Marlon was trying to figure it out on his own, whereas Dory was immediately looking for help. 

Why are we so afraid to ask for help? (Me included) I admit, there are days when I don't know what to do.  Personally, I do this when it comes to a babysitter, running out of funds and supplies, discipline, potty training, impatience with my child...etc. 

Here is some direction:

You may not be a "Holy roller" or a "Jesus Freak", you may never have read the bible, but as a parent, it is one of the oldest guidebooks to ever be written, and because I am a woman of Faith, this is the first piece of advice I want to give to you.  If you can read, Leslie's Book of Confidence ( I don't know if that is a real book or not, but bear with me) or "How to Lose a man in 10 Days" or, "How to be a better mom" and take advice from those books, then the Bible is no different, it is a book or written accounts from people who have lived and died with advice, direction and wisdom.  So here goes:

I Peter 5:1-4 reads the following:

¹ To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: ² Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; ³ not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

In this verse, God is telling the Elders of the community to be a helping hand towards those in need.  My interpretation as to why he told them this is because, they have lived long lives before the other generations, and they have experiences, they have seen what their wrong decisions have caused and the outcomes of good decisions. So ask for help...they are here for us.

I Peter 5:5-6
⁵ In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”^[a]
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

God shows favor to those of us who are humble enough to tell Him that we are lost and don't know what to do. I too am guilty of this. This is the one thing I struggle with as a parent.  In this verse God is telling us that He has provided our elders parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, our church family, friends of older generations to be there for us.  We, as parents, need to humble ourselves enough to ask them for the help we need. 

Some of them are so grateful to be apart of our lives.  Imagine your life without your child(ren) anymore; you have raised them and they no longer need you. I think I would have this huge void.  So by being humble enough to ask your elders for help and advice, you may be blessing them in return by filling a void for them, therefore bringing them great joy and something to look forward to.

I Peter 5:7

 ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

God is commanding us to Cast all of our anxiety and care on Him.  He doesn't want us to struggle, be confused or anxious.  We will hit tough times, but God is reminding us to trust Him and to realize that we are not in control.  He knows the future He has for us and we need to spend our time loving, living and serving our families, and those around us.  He blesses us with new life each day, and the lives of our children; one more day to look into their eyes, that is blessing enough for us to cast our anxieties (which are caused by ungodly factors) on Him.

Lesson 2: While in the mouth of the whale, Marlon gets depressed and starts recalling a promise that he made to Nemo.  The promise was that he would never let anything happen to him (Nemo).  Dory quickly let him know that if you never let your child face their own experiences, then they will never develop and grow for themselves. 

We need to "...train a child in the way that he should go" (Proverbs 22:6).

If we are RAISING our children, teaching them, guiding them and disciplining them, God will do the rest.  Our children may go through ups and downs, but they will remember our example to them as parents and react in that way or even better, they may surprise you.

Lesson 3: When the whale tells Dory to move to the back of the throat, Marlon immediately becomes negative.  He thinks the whale is going to eat them, forgetting the fact that, they are still alive and whales don't eat fish.  When the whale tells them that its time to let go, Marlon's reaction was , "How do you know something bad isn't going to happen?" 

As a parent, I have learned that in order to move forward with my life, I need to let go of the past and the negativity that comes with it.  Forgive, move on, and create new experiences.  if we bring our past into our daily lives with our children, it will affect our mood and our actions, and as I wrote in the first blog, they see it and they mock it.   We cannot change the past, and most importantly we cannot predict the future.  We are not perfect, but we can prepare ourselves for the best possible outcome given the circumstance we are facing.

We will never know if something good or bad will happen.  This is where our faith comes into play.  Have faith the God will be your guide, pray about your actions, and remember prayer without action is void...meaning if you pray to exercise patience and then don't do it, don't expect your situation to change.