-I love how casually Jack talks with God. It’s so real, so raw. It’s so refreshing. “You really are a vindictive bastard, you know that? Yeah, you. Wherever you are. This doesn’t change anything. I hope you know that. Why do I even waste my time with you? You’re a joke.” It might sound funny to some people, but God is not bothered by this. I think so often in life, we forget how real God is, and how near. He wants us to be honest with Him, and He is not offended by our honesty. He would prefer it over any kind of phoniness, he knows us too well anyway. God understands our pain, understands our anger, understands our fear. Nothing should ever hold us back from being honest about what we’re thinking and how we’re feeling with God. And isn’t it refreshing when we are? Later Jack begs God to help him save Aria, and I loved seeing him reach out to the only Person he had left, the only one he thought would be able to help him. God is there. He is real, and you are not alone.

-When Aria is plopped right in the middle of Jack’s life, he’s all, “What are you up to?” with God. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve had an unexpected circumstance happen in my life and been all, “What the HECK, God?” But that is where living in expectancy versus expectation comes in. At that point, Jack didn’t know what an impact Aria would have on his life, or how God intended to use her to bring such healing to his life, just as he did with her. Sometimes God works in our pain by giving us something else to care about. Not instead of what we cared about in the past, but rather, in addition to. God is a God of second chances, even if they’re not what we’re expecting them to look like, and He can restore the years the locusts have eaten.

-When Jack first meets this mysterious girl who’s stealing his food, he asks her name, and she says she doesn’t have one. Later he gives her the name Aria. I was so touched by what a precious example of God’s love the gift of a name is. Our names are critical because they are tied to our identities. For instance, before she met Jack, Aria’s identity was worthless. Big Al calls her “less than nothing” and “maggot”. He declares to Jack that all she can bring him is pain and death. What must it have been like to grow up that way, where that was all you heard? (I would have loved to know what her mother, who loved her so much she was willing to die to protect her, called her…she must’ve had some kind of pet name for her?) When Jack gave Aria her new name, it replaced all the foul identities the enemy placed on her. Jack even goes into what Aria means – untouchable, someone who holds their own. Aria also means “lioness” in Greek. Jack even calls her his princess. Names give us life.

God does this for us. He gives us a new name to replace the lies others have placed on us. He calls us a son or a daughter. He calls us His own. The world cannot take away our identity, because the world did not give it to us. And no matter what negativity the world tries to reinforce in us, He will come against those lies and continue to confirm our true names. The scene at the end of the movie exemplifies this, when Big Al is mocking Jack for sacrificing himself for “a less than nothing maggot”, and reinforces that “she doesn’t even have a name.” But Jack declares that her name is Aria, not just once, but TWICE! So powerful!! And we see the power a name has, for when Jack declares Aria’s name and identity, Aria finally gains the freedom to speak, to be brave, to try and fight for Jack. Wow, I loved that scene so hard. 

-There’s a heavy theme of regret running through this movie. Oh, regret is the ultimate itch that can never be scratched! Jack is dealing with such massive guilt and regret over the deaths of his wife and daughter. How many times are we haunted by our mistakes, or perceived mistakes? “If only I’d done this differently.” “If only I’d been there.” One of my personal recent regrets was never telling my mother about my writing before she died. Stupid reasons, I guess…I thought she wouldn’t “get it”, or that she’d tell me that it was a nice hobby as long as I kept a “real job”. Whatever the reasons I had at the time, I wish I had told her and not kept it a secret, because I felt like I robbed her and myself of being able to share together in an important part of my life. I don’t know if she would have understood or agreed with everything that I write on or about, but I do know that she would have been super proud of me for using my creative gifts and talents. (And she definitely would have commented something on all my blog posts!)

-Both Jack and Aria each think the death of a loved one was their fault, Jack his daughter Melody, and Aria her mother, Trish. I think the enemy tries to get us to believe that we’re not worthy of the good things we have, so when we lose them, we think we deserve it, and that it’s somehow our fault. And again, regret rears its head. The enemy wants us to believe that if we had only done this, or if we had gotten there a little bit earlier, or made a different decision, the outcome would have been different. Or maybe it wouldn’t have been. I’ve had tons of super crappy things happen to me, and I’ve also had bunches of amazing blessings poured out on me. “Bad things happen to good people, but it doesn’t mean it’s their fault.” Why “bad” things happen to “good” people is a question mankind has asked from the foundations of the earth, and I don’t believe there is a real answer, at least, I’ve not been able to come up with one.