Twue Love (what a bwessed occasion!)

Dear Reader, I have a confession to make. Last night, I took a hit. I made a major sacrifice to my bulwark of strength. I cried at a chick-flick. Yes, gentle reader, the girl who does not cry in movies, no matter how sad, not even Braveheart, cried in a movie about a princess, a dream, a throne, and true love. Unfortunately also a movie whose primary audience is 12 years old or younger. Last night, I gave in to my 12-year-old inner-self and watched Princess Diaries 2. I'm sure it would reassure the majority of you to learn that I was babysitting, or that this was my first viewing of such frivolity, but alas, I cannot offer such condolences...

The real question is, however, why did this silly, girlish, mostly pink movie make me cry? It would be simple enough to explain it as tears of laughter (I mean, really, who asks their true love if they have a chicken for the royal table?!?) or tears of boredom (the TV version cuts out all the good parts- don't ask how I know that!) or perhaps just something in my eye. But no, dear friends, I cannot tell a lie. No, in all honesty, there is something in this goofy teenybopper flick which speaks to my heart's true desires, and not just my girlish dreams.

Quick recap for those grown-ups in the audience: the girl (Mia) is a princess, but cannot be queen unless she marries within 30 days according to the centuries old law; she picks eligible bachelor #6 effectively off the royal equivalent of e-harmony, but doesn't love the bloke; she falls in love with her rival for the throne (typical) but plans to marry the other man anyhow (sorry guys, that is how chick-flicks roll); at the last minute, she ditches the marriage plan and gives a rousing neo-feminist plea for a change to the laws; her rival abdicates the throne for her sake; Parliament bends, she becomes Queen without a King; her lover cannot offer her a chicken, but she accepts him anyhow, and the final scene is the coronation of Queen Amelia Mionette Thermopolis Reanaldi. All this plus Julie Andrews... I submit, what could be better?!

So. Now. I'm sure you're wondering, other than your X-chromosomes, what could this movie possibly speak to? Touche. Let me elaborate. To me, this movie paints a picture of freedom which I think we as grown-ups often dismiss as fairy-tale-esque or child's frivolity. You see, in the character of Mia, there is a certain essence of obligation, duty, and limited love, as she pursues her designated life. She is bound by the law-- the only power or hope of freedom which she has comes from following the law. She pursues the law, all the while her heart is longing for true love. Now, the movie unfortunately sums "true love" up as a "foot-popping-good" kiss and a few moments stolen under a large tree (not to worry, rated PG for the 12-year-old audience). But at the same time, you get a very clear picture of the lack of freedom, under the guise of the law. Mia longs for something more. She longs for freedom, for true love (what a bwessed occasion!) and the ability to be entirely herself. And the beauty is, because this is a fairy tale, her dreams are granted. She becomes fully herself, as the law is abolished. She is free. And, she is loved.

How much greater is the picture of our Father's love for us... can't you hear his passion in his plea for us? "How long, oh my people, will you turn away, pursuing other lovers?" It is only in God's true love that we are free, whole, and satisfied. The law can never satisfy; moreover, we can never satisfy it. Other loves briefly fill, but they never quench our thirst or satisfy our hunger. Only under the mantle of Christ do we find true love and the freedom to be fully whom we were created to be. And THAT, my friends, is why Princess Diaries 2 made me cry. Because when Mia lets go of her false love and takes the risk, she finds more than she hoped-- her dreams, "true love" as defined by Disney, and fullness of herself. I cried because I long for a different freedom, wholeness, and fullness, as defined by God.

But all too often, I am content to believe that freedom, love, and wholeness belong in the fairy tales; that it is fantasy and make-believe for adolescents. Grown-ups know better. Bull. Grown-ups, we long for true and whole love, just as much as the tweens; we long for freedom; we long to be fully ourselves. But WHY, do we turn the gospel into an impossible fairy tale? a chore? a responsibility? We miss the joy. We miss the romance, as our Savior calls us by name; we miss the courage, as he triumphs over evil; and we miss the freedom that he calls us to, as we settle for a love still legalistic in character. We are content to satisfy the requirements without ever knowing the freedom.

Our God loves us with a love which is whole, free, and overflowing. This is not a fairy tale. It is not child's play. It is not a dream. It is on offer. It will cost you everything. But, oh friends, it is worth it. True love? The kind that sets you free? It's not in the personals section of the newspaper, or on e-harmony, or at 1-900-whateva... it's the kind of love that, once you encounter it, you will never be the same again. It's the kind of love story that sent our Savior to the cross, it's the kind of power that made him rise from the dead, and it's the kind of freedom that calls us co-heirs to the throne. Not by the law, that no man may boast. But by the wild, uninhibited love of our Savior... the kind of love story that a fairy tale can only mirror dimly...