www.disney.com
Disney Enterprises Inc.

My daughters and I went to see the new Disney movie, Cinderella, recently. Oh my, what a fantastic movie! The sweetness of Cinderella, the quirkiness of the fairy godmother, the ruthlessness of the step-mother, the ‘charm’ of the prince?

Truly charming.

They did a fantastic job of taking the endearing animated version and bringing out a deeper thread through this version. Prince Charming had a personality!!

Now, I’m a cry-er anyway – and I cried twice in this movie (along with my oldest daughter), but there was such a sweetness to the family stories of both Cinderella and Kit (the prince). They both had been loved deeply by their parents, and in return you see this beautiful amount of love they share with others around them.

The overarching theme, that is repeated on several occasions, is “Have Courage and Be Kind”. What a fantastic theme to share with anybody, let alone the thousands of girls watching. Throughout the movie, Cinderella is constantly putting these to qualities into action, through her interaction with her stepmother and sisters, of course, but also in her kindness to the mice, the fairy godmother, and even the king.

She’s utterly endearing and if Prince Charming didn’t fall for her, we’d have his head examined for certain! 🙂

But in all these sweet moments, something stood out to me more than any other in the whole movie.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

At the end of the movie, when the glass slipper fits and she’s getting ready to leave her family home behind, she turns to her stepmother and says “I forgive you.”

Whoa! Now THAT takes the ultimate courage and the ultimate kindness!!

To be able to forgive someone who has mistreated us, slandered us, abused us, been cruel to us? It is a feat of courage that shakes the very core of a human. How can we even do it? Because we recognize the ultimate kindness! One fuels the other.

www.disney.com

Forgiveness is ‘powerful magic’ because it has the ability to hit the deepest, darkest places with a light of reformation! It can be shocking, counter-cultural, a relief. With it comes peace, reconciliation, release!

You know where I’m going with this?

The Ultimate Courage and the Ultimate Kindness was found in the very holiday we celebrated a few weeks ago. Christ, the perfect one, had the courage and the kindness to take on the cross, death, hell, and the grave. He wore the cloak of God’s wrath, felt the soul-ripping loneliness of being separated from his Father, carried the burden of shame equal to the sins of eternity! Courageous? You bet. Kind….like nothing else in all of history.

He did all this so that he could turn to us and say “I forgive you” for everything you have done or will do. “I forgive you” for your rebellion and pride. Your doubt and lies. Your self-righteousness and anger. “I forgive you” and NOW you are ready to be with me in my home…

Oh, what a love!

So, with his strength and wisdom to guide and support us, we can truly face this world with the ability to

Have Courage and Be Kind.