Movie Date
“I have a theory that movies operate on the level of dreams, where you dream yourself.”—Meryl Streep.
My granddaughter, Zoe, and I have been having a date for many years on Friday afternoon to watch old movies. I wish we could swim together, stroll in the woods, or walk down some of Little Rock’s beautiful trails, but my physical disability makes that too difficult. However, we can curl up in the king-size bed in our master bedroom, all lights out, each covered by our favorite blankets, while we eat popcorn and watch movies. We have seen almost every musical made. Occasionally we watch drama, and less often, comedy. One week, Zoe saw, for the first time, Some Like It Hot. I forgot to mention that Zoe is going into the twelfth grade this year, and usually, I get permission from her parents to see certain movies. We usually talk a little about the film after it is over. Sometimes there is much to talk about; at other times, very little. This week we are going to see Babette’s Feast.
In the past, I have shown her paintings from my favorite art museums, and rarely have we read poetry together. Yet, there is so much grandparents want to share with their precious grandchildren.
Mostly, however, it is just about the pleasure of being in our grandchildren’s presence. They connect us to our soul. I have learned to drop everything I am doing and be with her if she texts about a potential movie date.
This movie date has become, for me, an icon of what prayer time may be about. I think there is some built-in homing device through which God and we yearn for each other’s presence. Prayer is occasionally words, but mostly presence. I believe God longs to share God’s experience, God’s amazing world with us, but mostly God longs for our presence—just as there is a conscious and maybe even a stronger unconscious longing in us just to be in God’s presence.
Joanna joannaseibert.com
