Ring Of Fire

December  25, 1949
Corinth Church of Christ
Nashville, Arkansas

Each year, we watch several clips in my classes from the movie Fireproof. This entry, from December 26, 2011, is about that movie and my folks.

I've watched a number of movies during the holidays. Some were films on television- Sound Of Music, Hoosiers- that I've seen before. I also watched several DVDs that were new to me that I really enjoyed, At Dave and Sally's, we watched Music And Lyrics which was pretty good considering I had never heard of it. At Scott and Karen's, we watched the highly acclaimed The Help which I thought was tremendous. We thought about going out to the movies yesterday afternoon but decided to stay in and watch a DVD in their collection called Fireproof. I had vaguely heard of it and knew Kirk Cameron was in it but that was the extent of my knowledge. It turned out to be a movie with an excellent Christian perspective on marriage. Cameron plays a fireman, Caleb Holt, who is a hero in the community but obviously a poor husband, past the point of caring. After a blowup with his wife, she tells him she wants a divorce and he doesn't object to the idea. However, his dad begs him not to give up without going through a forty day program based on treating his spouse with kindness and respect. Reluctantly, Caleb agrees but as time goes by and he begins seeking the Lord, he ultimately wins back his skeptical wife and his relationship with his own mother. It's a low budget film that did well at the box office and not surprisingly, was loved by the religious community but not by secular reviewers.

As I reflected on Fireproof, I thought it interesting that we watched it on what would have been the sixty-second anniversary of our folks' wedding. Mom and Dad were united in matrimony on Christmas Day, 1949, coincidentally, also a Sunday. Roger Hawley and Nelda Chesshir were married in a ceremony officiated by our grandfather, Harold Hawley, AFTER evening worship in a little church building in Nashville, Arkansas. My folks made it fifty-eight years before death separated them. After we finished Fireproof, my sister-in-law, Karen, commented it would be a blessing for all married couples to watch this movie. I think she's right although it's hard for me as a bachelor to completely relate. I do know our parents-to-be exchanged both rings and sacred vows that late winter afternoon. But vows can be broken and rings can be slipped off. Both occurred in that movie where fire was an overriding theme. Experience teaches that fire can destroy or fire can shape and perfect. It all depends on who we let control our flame.

Applicable quote of the day:

Marriage is a pretty amazing thing when you think about it. For two people to live together for so long under the same roof is a big accomplishment. Fifty-year anniversaries are becoming extinct, yet again proving that long marriages deserve awards and praise. Sometimes I see old people in restaurants sitting together eating their meals and I watch them. Sometimes it makes me sad. They don't even talk. Is it because they have nothing else to say, or can they simply read each other's mind by now.

Jenny McCarthy

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com