Last week, I went over to the wonderful Michal Rudolph's house to watch the first half of Anne of Green Gables (we need to finish it sometime next week, Michal!!) This was one of my favorite movies when I was younger and let me tell you, its even better all as a (sort of) adult.
Anne is such a character. What a sweet, innocent child. My friend, Ellen, pointed out, that despite everything that this little girl has been through, she is hopeful, imaginative, and happy. Somehow, she managed to avoid some extreme mental scarring.
But that's not really what I want to write about.
I was struck by something while watching the movie.
If you have seen it, then you will remember that sweet Anne hates her red hair. She thinks that it makes her hideous. Personally, I think that she is a beautiful little girl, and I used to long for pretty red hair like her's, but she hated it. She even tried to dye it black, but it turned out green.
At 2 points in the movie, other characters mocked her because of her hair. The first was her adoptive mother's friend and the second was Gilbert Blythe. In response to these comments (Gil called her "Carrots"), she verbally attacked the friend and broke her slate over Gil's head. It isn't until the end of the movie that she finally forgives Gil for his comments. (They end up married- but that's a different, wonderful story.)
Her responses seem extreme, right? Anne is just over dramatic, right?
At first glance, I would agree. But when I thought about it a little more, I understood.
These characters unintentionally picked on the very thing that Anne hated the most about herself, the things that she constantly was telling herself. When Gil called her "Carrots", he was repeated and cementing the thoughts that plagued her. He was validating the thing that she already thought- that she was ugly. That her hair made her undesirable and hideous.
Has this ever happened to you?
Has anyone ever unknowingly, hit that extremely raw nerve and confirm your worst fears about yourself?
Maybe, not. Maybe I'm just as dramatic as Anne, because I know that this has happened to me.
And I know how much it hurts.
I know how much I wish sometimes that I could break a slate over their head in response. (not really, you get my meaning)
But then I started thinking- What if I'm not Anne, what if I'm Gil?
Have my words unknowingly hit that raw nerve in someone's heart? Have I unintentionally found the thing that someone hates about themselves the most and then just flaunted it to the world? Have I done that intentionally?
There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 12:18
A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
Proverbs 15:4
Believe me when I say, I am writing this more to myself than for anyone else. More times than not, but tongue is like sword thrusts, hurting instead of building up.
I need to think before I speak. I can't tell you how many times my mom told me that growing up, and not just saying mean things, just saying things in general- like Anne, I like to talk and don't always know when to stop.
Discernment in speaking is something that I need, its something that a lot of us need. So lets ask for it. Lets ask God to give us the wisdom to know when to not speak, when to just be quiet. Because even a joke, a little bit of teasing, it can be the thing to make a girl with pretty red hair do something completely stupid and end up dying it green.
I want people to say this about me:
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
Proverbs 31:26
If you had no idea what I was just talking about, PLEASE go watch Anne of Green Gables. It is wonderful!
This song always makes me think of it. (random)
Anne is such a character. What a sweet, innocent child. My friend, Ellen, pointed out, that despite everything that this little girl has been through, she is hopeful, imaginative, and happy. Somehow, she managed to avoid some extreme mental scarring.
But that's not really what I want to write about.
I was struck by something while watching the movie.
If you have seen it, then you will remember that sweet Anne hates her red hair. She thinks that it makes her hideous. Personally, I think that she is a beautiful little girl, and I used to long for pretty red hair like her's, but she hated it. She even tried to dye it black, but it turned out green.
At 2 points in the movie, other characters mocked her because of her hair. The first was her adoptive mother's friend and the second was Gilbert Blythe. In response to these comments (Gil called her "Carrots"), she verbally attacked the friend and broke her slate over Gil's head. It isn't until the end of the movie that she finally forgives Gil for his comments. (They end up married- but that's a different, wonderful story.)
Her responses seem extreme, right? Anne is just over dramatic, right?
At first glance, I would agree. But when I thought about it a little more, I understood.
These characters unintentionally picked on the very thing that Anne hated the most about herself, the things that she constantly was telling herself. When Gil called her "Carrots", he was repeated and cementing the thoughts that plagued her. He was validating the thing that she already thought- that she was ugly. That her hair made her undesirable and hideous.
Has this ever happened to you?
Has anyone ever unknowingly, hit that extremely raw nerve and confirm your worst fears about yourself?
Maybe, not. Maybe I'm just as dramatic as Anne, because I know that this has happened to me.
And I know how much it hurts.
I know how much I wish sometimes that I could break a slate over their head in response. (not really, you get my meaning)
But then I started thinking- What if I'm not Anne, what if I'm Gil?
Have my words unknowingly hit that raw nerve in someone's heart? Have I unintentionally found the thing that someone hates about themselves the most and then just flaunted it to the world? Have I done that intentionally?
There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 12:18
A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
Proverbs 15:4
Believe me when I say, I am writing this more to myself than for anyone else. More times than not, but tongue is like sword thrusts, hurting instead of building up.
I need to think before I speak. I can't tell you how many times my mom told me that growing up, and not just saying mean things, just saying things in general- like Anne, I like to talk and don't always know when to stop.
Discernment in speaking is something that I need, its something that a lot of us need. So lets ask for it. Lets ask God to give us the wisdom to know when to not speak, when to just be quiet. Because even a joke, a little bit of teasing, it can be the thing to make a girl with pretty red hair do something completely stupid and end up dying it green.
I want people to say this about me:
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
Proverbs 31:26
If you had no idea what I was just talking about, PLEASE go watch Anne of Green Gables. It is wonderful!
This song always makes me think of it. (random)
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