reflections upon, "into the woods"

Originally posted September 1, 2015
Last December, J was home for Christmas break. It was Tuesday, so we decided to go to $5 movie night after my shift at work. We chose to see Into the Woods, a musical mashup of popular fairytales that retains canonical references (like eye-pecking birds and drastic foot-altering) to the Brothers Grimm. We'd seen the show as a high school play once before, and I knew that it contained some questionable content and lyrics, but I'd seen photo stills online and simply fallen in love with the gorgeous costuming. We surprised ourselves by enjoying the movie - we laughed out loud at Agony - and loving the music.  Later, I wasn't surprised to see many Christian bloggers bashing the movie for its worldly themes - I had found myself cringing at the finale song, No One Is Alone, which takes place when Little Red Riding Hood questions the morals of killing a giant, since her now-deceased mother taught her murder was wrong (and in response, Cinderella offers some very interesting advice). Even so, it was no surprise that the song promoted self-decided morality - without God as a moral compass, we can only look to our conscience for right and wrong. But the questionable ending song also caught my attention for another reason. To comfort Red, Cinderella, sings "Mother cannot guide you / now you're on your own" and the lyrics later include the lines:

Mother isn't here now Who knows what she'd say? Nothing's quite so clear now... Feel you've lost your way You decide, but you are not alone Believe me, no one is alone

"Mother cannot guide you, now you're on your own," and, "Mother isn't here now, who knows what she'd say?" Someday, if it is God's will for me to have a family, I want my children to know what I would say to them after my passing. When faced with a decision, I don't want them to be like Little Red, feeling lost and confused. I don't want them to have to guess my hypothetical thoughts and opinions. When faced with a moral dilemma, I want them to know exactly what I would tell them. Not because I've left them a book entitled, "What to Do When a Giant Attacks Your Home" or an instruction manual titled, "What to Do In Every Situation (As Told By Your Mother)". It's because I've taught them to turn to the only book that can truly give us guidance. It's because I've encouraged them to have a relationship with One who is fully good and loving and because I've turned them towards the One who will make their decisions clear to them. The only One who will truly never leave them alone. The One who will help them find their way (His way). The One who has left us the best instruction manual ever - His Word and His Holy Spirit to help us understand.  To my someday children - I pray that when faced with tough decisions, you will turn to God and His Word. That you will be able to enjoy a work of art, but realize its moral fallacies. That you will never truly feel alone, because although I may leave you, though your friends may you, though your loved ones may leave you, there is One who will never leave you alone. Though there may come a day when you will say, "Mother isn't here now", that you will know exactly what I would say.