ABANDONED (2019)
Not Rated
Abandoned (2019)
Messenger Studios
Inspired by John Bevere’s book, “God, Where Are You?”
A young girl is being raised by her doting father, but when she goes blind, her father disappears.
Opening Thoughts
I stumbled across this short film (6 minutes) on Youtube, on a channel called Messenger Studios. I had no idea what it was about, but ended up in tears half way through. A very powerful punch packed into 6 short minutes, dealing with those times when we feel abandoned by God.
I’m not even going to give any spoilers for this one, or any recaps. Instead, because it’s so short, I HIGHLY recommend all of you to go over and check it out.
There have been many times in my life when I felt alone, for a multitude of reasons.
I felt alone when I was being bullied, because no one ever stood up for me or defended me.
I felt alone when no one was interested in the same things I was, and nobody “got” me.
I felt alone when I couldn’t seem to do anything right.
I felt alone when I had trouble understanding subjects in school, no matter how hard I tried.
I felt alone because I never had a boyfriend, or got asked out on dates, or to dances.
I felt alone when I graduated college and didn’t know what to do with my life.
I felt alone when my church split, and when I went to a new church, I was the only one over 13 and under 30 in the whole place.
I felt alone when my father and mother died, even though I was surrounded by loved ones.
I’ve felt alone and trapped in sin, drowning in shame.
I’ve felt alone as a single person, feeling completely unloved and undesired.
I’ve felt alone watching my friends and family get married, and have children.
But I wasn’t. Not ever. Not even once.
Just because I couldn’t see God in those times, couldn’t feel Him, didn’t mean I was alone. Bad things happen all the time to people, but it doesn’t mean God’s not there! And it doesn’t mean He doesn’t love us! His heart breaks and shreds when we go through hardships. Our earthly “blinded” eyes only see what we perceive as His absence. They don’t see what He has done, and is doing for us every day.
I was bullied, but I survived. I am stronger because of it, and can empathize with those who struggle in the same way.
I was a “geek” before it was cool, but it was a gateway to insane amounts of creativity and fun that I get to use for things like this blog.
I discovered that making mistakes is sometimes how we learn best. And I learned how to forgive myself.
I found out that I’m super smart and very intelligent, and that math isn’t for everyone 😉
I developed relationships with friends and family that still hold strong today.
God put a path under my feet for my life even when I couldn’t see it, and led me along that path. He put me in the most epic life adventures I couldn’t have planned if I tried.
He gave me a new church, consisting of a family of families, where I learned about aspects of God I never knew existed, and that He’s a lover, not a master.
He shared my grief and showed me how to draw closer and take comfort in Him, my heavenly Father who will never leave me.
He showed me His incredible and incomprehensible love, that forgives beyond measure, accepts completely, and loves with condition.
He’s given me a season in my life where I’m still discovering new things about myself, having new adventures, making new friends, and stepping forward into a destiny that’s still unfolding. All of which I might not be able to do otherwise.
Bad things suck when they happen, sometimes it can be devastating. But if you go into those times knowing that God is there, on the move, doing and working in ways that we can’t see or understand, we can embrace even the “suck”. We will never know the full extent of what we are capable of unless we embrace those times and allow them to refine us and make us stronger. And you are not the only one to ever go through a wilderness. Everyone does, no matter how pretty their Instagram is.
Now, I’m not trying to be trite, and be all “God won’t give us anything we can’t bear.” I hate it when people say that. But, the truth is, God is not always going to give us everything we want, but He will ALWAYS give us what we need. The world is full of bad things that happen. The difference is we can choose to let it crush us beyond repair, or we can keep getting up after we’ve been knocked down. Because God is standing there with His hand held out to help us back up, and He has purpose and destiny for us – good things! Because He’s a good father who wants to give good things to His children!
Closing Thoughts
Wow, sometimes I can’t wait to see Him face to face with eyes that work, and see everything I missed in my physical life. But then again, I feel like when I get to the point where I’m finally looking at God face to face…I probably won’t care. 🙂
I have not read John Bevere’s book that this short film was based on, but now I’m super curious! If you want to check it out as well, here’s a handy link.
Drop in the comments about times you felt like God abandoned you, and what you did (or didn’t do) about it. What kind of wildernesses have you walked through? Looking back, can you see how God was there all along?
