I wonder if you’ve seen the latest Disney film, Encanto? It’s a dream for children’s work. The story has a great message, the characters are relatable and the development for each are things that children can take on board and learn from. In fact, not just the children. That’s why it’s made its way into this challenge.
Sometimes there are things that get in the way of us focusing on God. We can get blocked by needing to be perfect or strong, or feeling like we need to do something to earn God’s love. Sometimes fear and shame can be a barrier, or comparison or needing to be in control. There are, of course, other things that can form mental barriers, but these are the ones I’ve come across in Encanto. There’s a lot in that list and I’ve still got 35 days to fill, so I’ll spread them out.
Fair warning, if you haven’t seen Encanto yet there will probably be some spoilers coming up. It’s worth a watch. I love it. I think it’s good enough to watch even if you’re not a fan of singing and dancing Disney films. But I’m a little biased.
OK, basic premise: Mirabel is part of the family Madrigal, a family who have special gifts to help those around them (and a magic house) thanks to a miracle. The miracle found Abuela (the grandmother and head of the family) after her husband sacrificed himself to save the village from invaders. Abuela has 3 children and 6 grandchildren and all have a gift except for Mirabel. The film follows Mirabel as the magic starts to fade and she sets out to ‘save the miracle’ and her family despite not having a special gift like the rest of the family. Good film, bad summary. Just go watch it!
For the first in the ‘Encanto’ series, I wanted to look at Abuela. Her husband sacrificed himself out of love and compassion (see the link?), and Abuela gets a miracle which she uses to bless the rest of the village. That’s good, right? Early in the bible, Abraham is blessed in order to be a blessing to others, not to selfishly hoard it to himself.
Except, in the opening song it’s clear to me that Abuela has missed the point.
We swear to always help those around us and earn the miracle that somehow found us
The town keeps growing and the world keeps turning
But work and dedication will keep the miracle burning
And each new generation must keep the miracle burning
Abuela’s husband sacrificed himself, nothing could possibly repay that. It was a gift, not something to be earned through ‘work and dedication’. We see throughout the film Abuela putting pressure on the family to be perfect and strong, and to always put the needs of others first. But the problem with that way of thinking is that no-one in her family will ever be able to meet those expectations, especially not Mirabel without a gift.
The things (in my opinion) that drive Abuela are fear of losing more (she lost her home and her husband already), and a need to earn the sacrifice and subsequent gift.
As I look towards Easter and remember the sacrifice Jesus made for me (and you…), I need to look at how I receive that. Do I try to work hard in order to feel like I’ve earned that? Because if I do, I’m gonna lose that everything. I can never earn that gift. Or am I trying to hold on to what I’ve found, hold onto God and that belonging because if I don’t measure up I’ll get kicked out of the club? Again, I will always fall short, and every time I mess up I’m going to fall into a spiral of beating myself up before daring to crawl back to God.
The thing is, it’s all about grace and love. Abuela learns that the miracle isn’t the gifts (or the magic house), the miracle is the family around her. And I need to learn and relearn that I don’t have to and could never earn my way into God’s family, and mistakes don’t get us thrown out of God’s family. I need to learn the accept that gift and to trust in God’s grace. Because I’m fairly sure I count myself out quicker than God does. In fact I’m sure of it. Throughout the bible we see God reaching out to people who get it wrong and mess up. I’m not so special as to be the one he doesn’t reach out to.
So I need to silence the Abuela voice inside and listen to the Mirabel voice, the one telling me to push boundaries, be human and have fun. God didn’t set us up to fail, he came to save us.
The Reason for my Hope Blog 