Twenty-five years ago on July 6, 1994, my favorite movie was released for the world to see: Forest Gump! For those of you that have never seen the movie, first and foremost, I will pray for your soul, because you have missed out on one of the greatest movies ever made. Secondly, I'll quickly share the plot.
The movie, as stated by Wikipedia, is based on the 1986 novel by Winston Groom. The story depicts several decades in the life of Forest Gump (played by my favorite actor Tom Hanks), a slow-witted but kind-hearted man from Alabama who witnesses and unwittingly influences several defining historical events in the 20th century in the United States. The slow-witted Gump has never thought of himself as disadvantaged, and thanks to his supportive mother, he leads anything but a restricted life. Whether dominating on the gridiron as a college football star, fighting in Vietnam or captaining a shrimp boat, Forrest inspires people with his childlike optimism. But one person Forrest cares about most may be the most difficult to save -- his childhood love, the sweet but troubled Jenny. So, that is the basic plot of the story and I won't share anymore because YOU MUST watch it!
For those of you that know me well, you know that it takes a lot to make me cry. Ok, that's a lie but let me explain. I am the son of Gary A. Elmore and he would cry at the drop of a hat, especially when it was something that involved family or friends. I get that trait from him so don't make fun of me. I wanted to share that tidbit to be fully transparent because I'll admit, I cry quite a bit every time I watch Forest Gump. I'll take it one step further to say that there is one scene (you'll have to guess which one) that makes me "ugly" cry every time! So, enough about my pathetic sentimental heart that cries a river watching movies. Let's get down to what I want to share about this great movie. For me, this movie speaks volumes about three specific things we all can try to do more of: Acceptance, love, and perspective.
In the movie, although it is never specifically mentioned, Forest is dealing with some type of mental challenge, possibly a form of autism or Asperger's syndrome. He also has a physical challenge that requires him to wear leg braces as a child to help him walk straight and upright, eventually outgrowing the condition. These two difficulties in his life cause him to have some extremely awkward social interactions throughout his life. On his first day of school, as he struggles to board the bus while wearing his leg braces, Forest sees first-hand that his little town of Greenbow, Alabama isn't very accepting of his differences. As he begins to walk down the aisle looking for a seat, two young boys look up from the seat. "This seat's taken." "It's taken!" Forrest looks around. A girl slides over so he can't sit next to her. She shakes her head, No. No one seems willing to allow Forest to sit with them. The narrator (Forest at a later age) says, "You know, it's funny what a young man recollects. 'Cause I don't remember being born. I don't recall what I got for my first Christmas and I don't know
when I went on my first outdoor picnic. But, I do remember the first time I heard the sweetest voice in the wide world." That is when a cute, young blonde girl says, "You can sit here if you want." At that moment, no one had accepted him except this little girl. It reminds me that we live in a world today where we are constantly placing up barriers (race, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, body shape, looks, socioeconomic, etc) between each other simply because we are different. The beauty of us, as God's masterpiece, is that we are different; however, we use those differences to put up walls instead of building bridges. In the Bible, the Apostle Paul writes, "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are ....... heirs according to the promise." God made us different for a reason. But, God also made us one together. Forest Gump teaches us to be accepting of one another in our differences which will allow us to grow together as one.
Love is an amazing thing. If you have ever experienced love or been in love, you will agree with that statement. Love IS an amazing thing. What we feel as "humanly" love is not even close to what God's love for us looks like. For Forest Gump, love began when he saw Jenny sitting in that seat on the bus. He was smitten as soon as he laid eyes on her and it never changed. Throughout the movie, we learn that Jenny was abused by her father at a young age which eventually spirals her into a myriad of bad decisions throughout life involving drinking, drugs, prostitution, depression, suicide attempts, and overdoses. In the midst of it all, Forest was always thinking about her, writing her letters, wanting to be with her. Every time Jenny showed back up into his life, he always happily welcomed her back. Time and time again she would fall back into the pitfalls of her own demons. Forest's unconditional love for Jenny reminds me of God's love and grace for us. No matter what Jenny did in her life, Forest still loved her. God looks at us and says, "I know all about you. I know about your sins. I know about your past. I know about everything you've done; and I still LOVE YOU, I still value you, I still care about you, I still forgive you, and I want to help you start over and make a new life." The good news is that if you haven't experienced this yet, all you have to do is accept God's offer! How about this....In your relationships with others, are you offering up Christ-like love? Are you giving grace to others just as God gave to you? If not, today is a good day to begin.
Lastly, one of the lessons I learned from this great movie is about perspective. How do you react and perceive the things that happen to you in life? In what is probably my favorite scene in the movie (and NO it is not the scene that makes me ugly cry), is toward the end of the movie. Jenny is in bed battling an illness that would take her life and Forest comes in to bring her a meal. He sits down beside her and she asked, "Hey, Forrest, were you scared in
Vietnam?" His reply about Vietnam and his many life experiences show an unbelievable perspective on life. He says, "Yes. Well, I, I don't know. Sometimes it would stop raining long
enough for the stars to come out. And then it was nice. It was like just before the sun goes to bed down on the bayou. There was over a million sparkles on the water. Like that mountain lake. It was so clear, Jenny. It looks like there were two skies, one on top of the other. And then in the desert, when the sun comes up. I couldn't tell where heaven stopped and the earth began. It was so beautiful." Jenny replies, "I wish I could have been there with you." And forest says, "You were." Throughout the movie you can see the pain and anguish Forest had because he wasn't always with Jenny physically but in this climatic moment in the film, you find out that from his perspective, Jenny was always right there beside him. There is a lot right there, theologically, we could talk about but I will let you ponder (in your own perspective) what that means for you today!
Happy 25th Anniversary to Forest Gump! May we live in a world full of Love and Acceptance and when life throws us a curve ball, allow our perspective to see it as pitch thrown straight down the middle of the plate! Blessings....I appreciate you!
Jason Elmore
Lover of Jesus and the fire service