-I was getting a little bit of a Biblical Joseph vibe at the beginning. Joseph appears to be his father’s favorite, and his father and brothers both describe him as a “dreamer”. Joseph admits that his ambitions are grander than his brothers’, and his brothers get angry and beat him up for it.

-I love how God has planted the dream of owning and farming his own land in Joseph’s heart. Joseph endures a lot of ridicule for this, (as do many of us following dreams that others don’t understand!) even his father calls him “An exceptionally odd boy.” But, his father uses this almost as an endearment, and encourages him to follow his dreams, no matter what. As his father lies dying, he sends Joseph off with his blessing.

-Grief at losing his father and his home causes Joseph’s dreams to seem unattainable, and he finds himself instead fixated with the desire to avenge his father’s death. Grief, while a natural effect of loss, can also consume us if we’re not careful. Joseph’s father, even as he lies dying, is encouraging his son to go after his dreams, even though he won’t be around but will be “smiling down on him from heaven above.” I know when my mother died I put aside my writing dreams for a time. I just couldn’t face writing, I carried so much guilt for keeping it a secret from my mom for so long. Thank God, He didn’t leave me where I was, and didn’t let my dream die, but used friends and encouragers to stoke that dream back to life. My mom wouldn’t have wanted me to give up on my dreams, no matter what, and God knew that.

-Joseph is so lost in vengeance he can’t see how his “enemy”, Daniel Christie, is just as enslaved as he is, and therefore is sympathetic to his plight and wants to help him. Grief can blind us to so much because all we can feel is our pain.

-I thought it was sort of funny that Joseph blesses Daniel with “long life and health” when the whole time he is planning to murder him later. But God honors his blessing anyway, saving Daniel’s life and even giving him and his wife “new life” with Joseph and Shannon at the end, so they can live like they’re “starting out in life, instead of ending up.”

-Joseph finds out just how worthless his vengeance is and only ends up hurting himself when his gun explodes in his face. How many times in our lives have we been driven by revenge or anger, only to have it blow up in our face?

-Shannon, while escaping her own prison of a prim and proper life, gives Joseph a chance at a new life too when she invites him to join her. But, the thing is, Joseph had to choose to go with her. And it took him a bit too, he had to struggle with his pride before choosing the way of life. I think we struggle with that too, because often the way God provides doesn’t look like we thought it would, or it causes us to go in some direction or follow some way we’re not familiar or comfortable with. But if we trust God and are willing to take the risks to follow Him into the unknown, oh, what awaits us!

-Like in the Biblical Joseph’s story, God uses earthly catastrophe and mistakes to bring about His will and give Joseph and Shannon a future and a hope. If Joseph had decided to stay on his farm or try and find work someplace else, instead of setting off to kill his landlord, he would never have been able to travel to America, or help Shannon when she needed it. If Shannon hadn’t decided to run away, Joseph would have been killed. The need to pursue their dreams drove both of them, and God knew that, for he had planted those dreams in their hearts, and he WANTED them to come to fruition, just like He does for our own dreams. It’s so interesting to me the effects our choices can have on our lives and the lives of others…effects that most of the time we are totally unaware of.