A Wonderful Love
I recently saw the movie Wonder starring Julie Roberts, Owen Wilson, and Jacob Tremblay. Wonder tells the inspiring and heartfelt story of a little boy named August Pullman (played by Tremblay) who suffers from Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare genetic disorder caused by an anomaly in DNA characterized by facial deformities of the ears, eyes, cheekbones, and chin.
Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson play the parents who love their son fiercely and desire desperately to protect him. August’s mom homeschooled him because he underwent multiple facial surgeries. But as he approaches middle school age, his parents decide to enroll him in private school. He enters the fifth grade attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time. Initially, he gets ostracized by nearly all the student body, but later on one of his classmates befriends him. His parents’ hearts ache for his anguish and rejoice in his successes as he navigates his way in the world of the 5th grade.
So many lessons and messages lie in this dramatic story and I refuse to give any more details to ruin the enjoyment for you. As a mother, I felt the parents pain as they endured the pain of their child. I even had several tearful moments.
The story touched on kindness, compassion, and friendship. It addressed the importance of acceptance and trying to fit in. It highlighted the current climate of bullying that still exist today in our culture. It also demonstrated how negative and bias attitudes pass from one generation to another. Based on the nature of the film, I expected these issues to be addressed. But one unexpected topic left me pretty choked up…
In one touching scene filled with lots of emotion and frustration, August told his dad that he must be ashamed of him every time his dad looked at his face. His dad cupped his face in his hand, looked him straight in the eye and said, “I know you don’t always like it, but I love it. It’s my son’s face.” I cried like a baby. Even after leaving the theater, I couldn’t get this phrase out of my mind. What a love…. a Wonderful Love!
I couldn’t get it out of my mind because it’s exactly the kind of love God shares with us. God the Father loves Jesus fiercely. We receive that same love when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. God desires desperately to protect us and His heart aches for our anguish and rejoices in our successes as we navigate our way in the world of life. He endures His children’s pain. And no matter what the world says about your looks, God cups your face and looks you straight in the eye and says, “I know you don’t always like it, but I love it. It’s my Son’s face.” When God sees us, He sees His Son and no deformities in us at all. He only sees Jesus. Oh, what a Wonder…a Wonderful Love!
I don’t know about you, but if you feel unloved, instead of looking for love in all the wrong places, this Valentine’s day, discover the Wonderful love that can only be found in Jesus Christ. And on any given day, I may not like what I see, but I know He loves me and I will always be a Wonder. Why? Simply…
