Perseverance Titles

Wow - it is hard to spell perseverance right.  I always want to add another "r," for perserverance, as that's how it sounds to me. I sit and think a minute, "No - it's like per - severance," and I continue to visualize an arm getting chopped off. See the agony I go through for perseverance.  However, I do like stories based on this incredible attribute.

The first pick is funny - "The Eensy Weensy Spider Freaks Out (Big Time)" by Troy Cummings. When Eensy gets knocked down, she goes through a period of fear and mental paralyzation. A good friend encourages her to try again with small steps, and Itsy just keeps climbing getting higher and higher one climb at a time. It was neat for Andrew to hear the little rhyme taken to the next level in a story. Only we say "Itsy Bitsy" instead of "Eensy Weensy."  Hmm...

I was reminded again of the 2005 Little House on the Prairie by Disney in discussing movies we'd liked for our family. The Little House stories really bring the country's exploration into imaginable settings, and I think this movie especially shows the struggle in acquiring land and coming into a place where so many things are unfamiliar. The drama that unfolded regarding the Indians in the Midwest gave us an opportunity to discuss how scary it would have been for both the settlers and Indians, not being able to speak to each other, both feeling like they had stake on the land, and inevidbly not dealing with it peacefully and taking something by force. With this story, there are many times to think about persevering in difficult situations and being thankful for what has already been accomplished towards a goal.

Now for our most recent discovery - Like Something the Lord Made. This was as new film through Sioux Fall's library, and I checked it out based on the title and reading that it explores a controversial ground breaking procedure used today. I was in for so much more! The story is initially set in the 1930's when an African American is hired to assist a surgeon with his research. They would recreate an ailment in a dog and then try different approaches to surgically correct the problems. The racial struggle that is documented through this movie broke my heart more than a few times over. However, the humility and encouragement that was expressed through a true story brought home how perseverance is often because of the love and support from other people that enables us to continue even when exhausted and criticized. After watching it I would like to find out more about how some of those early open heart surgeries panned out and from a faith perspective where the families are at now (children and grandchildren of these doctors). I appreciated the respect for life that the doctors aimed to communicate when threatened by skeptics that their operations could bring death.

The last thing I will say about this movie is how amazing the match ups are with the actors and the actual doctors. I loved their demenour and found it so believable. And oh wait, there are 2-3 fits of rage w/ cussing. Makes you realize the difficult dynamics of their working relationship at times. So really, I'm done this time.