Finding Nemo?

Today we were over-run by six small boys and three small girls, dodging the knees of twelve grown-ups...This is more Jo's idea of a good time than mine, but the kids enjoyed it. In fact, Noah took his 2nd birthday party completely in his stride, while I stressed about this, that, and the other.

After everyone had gone, and the dust (more accurately, the adrenalin; most accurately, my adrenalin) had settled, we put on Finding Nemo. This is one of our kids' favourite films (one of ours, too - so many quotable lines), and we'd been given the DVD for Christmas. I can't remember how many times it's been on since...

Even later, after the kids were in bed, I checked out one of the bonus features: as the film plays in the background, the producer, co-producer and writer talk through the process of making the film, scene-by-scene - breaking to include material that was eventually edited out - from earliest ideas to finished movie. Their conversation is fascinating - exploring ideas of hope triumphing over fear; of how a father's self-imposed overly-safe boundaries restrict not only his own enjoyment of the world, and chance to fulfil his potential; but his son's enjoyment and potential too...In fact, though it is Nemo who is captured and must be rescued from a dentist's fish-tank, through his ongoing decisions to overcome seemingly impossible circumstances to rescue his son it is Marlin who finds freedom from too-narrow confines - and who, in the process, finds his true self.

The challenge of Finding Nemo is that in being overly-protective, you lose the ones you sought to protect; that in being overly-cautious, you live a life less full than life is meant to be. Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10b; he also said, "...whoever wants to save his life [which surely includes striving to save the relationships that make that life seem worth living?] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it" Matthew 16:25. Today I have been both overly-protective and overly-cautious - managing to largely miss out on the only opportunity I'll ever have to share my son's 2nd birthday party with him - and I needed to be reminded of the story of Finding Marlin, before I wake up one day in the not-too-distant future and realise that I have lost Noah...