***A quick word on divorce in a Christian context: I do not believe the author of the book or producer of the movie intended a Christian sub-context from the title’s “Pray” or the movie’s spiritual context. I personally do not hold an “American New Yorker” protagonist character accountable to the same Judeo-Christian values that I personally ascribe to.
(In my personal experience, however, I am grateful to those values that caused me personally to take my vows gravely seriously: failure to do so on my part would have lead to a disastrous and painful marriage one year ago. I have nothing but incredible thanks to God for causing me to take them seriously, yet I still do not “judge” or in any way “devalue” another human being for holding different values.)
Liz: living the perfect American dream… but she feels like something is missing. She’s married to a good man, living a good life, and everything is “good.” Something is definitely missing. She wants out. Her marriage isn’t perfect – communication skills definitely lack, but she really isn’t in need for anything. So why is she feeling so guilty? Why is she feeling so dead?
Younger man David seems to fill the gaping hole… for a while. He’s different, exciting, new. Yet the same problems keep coming back. Empty. Dead. Lifeless. Something is missing. David seems to be a younger version of her former husband. Liz comes to a stunning realization: is the dead reality of life just filling it with man after man? Relationship after relationship? Could there be more to life?
Eating. Enjoying now. Not feeling guilty about savoring the moment. Not measuring oneself based on the opinion of another, or the feeling of whether the enjoyment is “deserved” just enjoying. Praying. Clearing space. Clearing the garbage to have room to love. Forgiving oneself. Love. Loving yourself. Trusting. Giving what you would have meaninglessly given before to be meaningful. Letting go.
I really enjoyed this movie: it symbolically represented the celebration of my one year past my breakup, and I’m somewhere in the between the Eat and Pray stages… :)
Pardon the fragmented sentences, but I really truly enjoyed the movie. I would add that with the whispers of love from my Creator, it added layers to my own story to this “Delightful Human Experience” realizing that it is both brilliant and beautiful, and that I am in the middle of my own healing process, and that God is good beyond my comprehension, and sometimes that overwhelms me… and as I read from C.S. Lewis, when you feel like something’s missing, maybe, just maybe you were destined for eternity? :)
