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Health & Fitness

Wadjda

Last Sunday I watched a beautiful 10-month old baby girl crawl around the carpeted floor of our narthex.  Her joy was contagious as she maneuvered around the feet of parishioners and clearly enjoyed the discovery of unknown territory.  Her borders were endless and her energy was boundless.  Then her parent scooped her up and she was once more confined to the safety of her father’s arms.  The baby quickly nestled into the chest of her father but I could also see her eyeing the floor with the anticipation of areas not yet travelled.   At that moment, I wished I could see the world through her young eyes.  I suspect that she sees a world filled with the possibility of soon-to-be delivered hopes and dreams.  I suspect that this is how God would like us to greet each day. 
 
I was also deeply touched by another young girl in the movie, Wadjda, that I saw this week at the Garden Cinema in Norwalk and recommend for everyone.  (Here is the trailer).  It is the first full-length feature film to come out of Saudi Arabia that is directed by a woman.  The story takes place in a suburb of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia where a 10-year-old girl named Wadjda must live within the confines of her culture.  She is not allowed to leave the house without wearing a headscarf and lives with her mother who is concerned that her husband will take a second wife.  Wadjda desperately wants a bicycle but lives in a society where women are not even allowed to drive or be unescorted in public.  The movie tells how this entrepreneurial, feisty girl pushes the boundaries to achieve her dream despite many obstacles that she must face.  I could not but think that God’s loving hand was somehow directing her to move beyond the repressive world that surrounded her.
 
As children of God we are called to “crawl” around a world that is crying out for those in need and living on the margins.  Our borders should be limitless as we confront the injustices in our society.  We must enter into territories inhabited by those who are in need of food, clothing, shelter, healthcare or education and attempt to change the system forever.   Our hopes for the world should be formed by God’s dream for all people.  And, when it seems impossible or even scary, we only have to remember that God is there to scoop us up to give us his love and comfort.
 
Mary Grace+

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