Days have flown by, filled with family fun and shared
experiences. For Christmas, hand-made gifts were shared, bringing delight
beyond belief. The gifts, included an aromatic rice bag for the microwave (the
scent was created using herbal teas); a sugar scrub to make hands and feet soft
as a baby’s butt, and a fantastic board game which included elements of some of
our old favorites and created a level playing field for all participants!
Additionally, as part of our family time, we went to see Unbroken, a powerful film
based on Laura Hillenbrand’s biography of an Olympic runner, turned war hero. A true story, the violence in this film activates a
sense of shared humanity rather than separation. I was willing to go see it a
second time….
The real-life hero, Louis Zamperini, died this past July,
but after seeing this film, I can expect that his spirit will continue to bless
our planet for all eternity. He ended up going to
Tokyo as a POW, rather than to compete there in the Olympics as he had hoped. After
their plane crashed several hundred miles from Oahu, Hawaii, surrounded by
sharks, shot at by Japanese runners from above, and without food or water, it
is nothing short of miraculous that they survived.
The details of his story I find most touching take place
where the film leaves off—after this amazing man returned home from the war.
As some still argue the question of nature or nurture,
none will argue the absolute inspiration that comes from this incredible human
life. Plagued by night terrors of his ordeal, his wife insisted he go hear
Evangelist Billy Graham speak. He never had the nightmares again.
Louie Zamperini made good on the promise he made to God during
those 47 days he spent drifting in the ocean before being captured by the
Japanese: “If you get me out of this alive, I will serve you for the rest of my
life.”
Fortunately, most of us will never have such dire conditions in which to make such significant a choice....
