Becoming Anna

January 30, 2014 | No comments yet

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by:  Staci Stallings

Yes, I’m still talking about “Frozen.”  Just a few more lessons, and I promise, I’ll move on. :)

I’ve discussed the movie from Elsa’s standpoint and there is much more to say; however, I want to say here that while my experience in life has been far more Elsa-like, I have to say that moving into becoming more Anna-like has been one of the best things in my life.

In the movie, Anna is the younger sister.  Because of things that happen at the beginning, she does not know or understand why her older sister doesn’t play with her anymore.  Anna is free-spirited and fun, but she also has a huge heart–especially for her sister who continually and repeatedly shuts her out.

Even when Elsa gets angry and lashes out at Anna during the coronation party, Anna says it wasn’t her fault and that if she hadn’t pushed her sister none of this would have happened.

Although I think Anna assumes too much blame for what’s happened, what inspires me is that through it all, she never stops loving her sister, and she never gives up.  She fights through the snow, the storm, the monster, 200-foot cliffs, and nearly dying so that her sister will know she is not alone.

See, one thing I have learned is that love, real love, is often hard.  Sometimes it’s the hardest thing you will ever do because you cannot control other people.  You don’t get to make their decisions.  You don’t have control over them.

And the truth is, people are a mess when you really get to know them.

I always remember Dennis when he was here, and we would be talking via email and something would get a little to close to things I really didn’t want to talk about.  I was Elsa, in the castle, saying things that very closely resembled, “Just leave and that way I won’t hurt you.”  But Dennis did not give up.  He was adamant about ‘going down those rabbit holes” so that whatever was bothering me could be talked about, talked through, worked through, and ultimately healed.

That’s the way Anna is.

Shortly after we got home from the movie the first time, we downloaded the entire soundtrack.  On it, they have outtake songs–songs they had written for the movie that didn’t end up making it into the movie.  These, for a writer, are fascinating because they give glimpses of how the movie could have gone, elements that were part of the original concept that didn’t end up in the end product (think deleted scenes, only deleted songs instead).

One of those songs was the original version of the song when Anna finds Elsa’s ice palace.  In the outtake song, Anna tells Elsa that she can just put on the glove back on and it will be like it was before.  Although I see how and why the writers would have thought this was a good idea (because let’s face it, that’s often other people’s “solution” to the problem of us… go back into hiding), I am so glad that’s not the way the movie ended up.

Why?  Because this way inspires me!

Anna never suggests Elsa should go back into hiding.  Instead, she says now that she knows and understands, they can fix this thing together.

Love and bravery in one sentence “we can fix this hand-in-hand.”

For anyone in the healing/inspiring ministry, these are soul-lifting words.

The problem comes, as it nearly always does with an Elsa, when she cannot let go of the fear even in the face of her sister’s acceptance and love.  And I have seen THAT dynamic over and over again.

So many hurting people are hurting so badly, they don’t WANT to be helped.  They are trapped in their fear, and they will hurt the very people who could and want to help them.

In the culmination of this scene, Elsa “strikes Anna in the heart”–a death blow that will take the rest of the movie to sort out and heal.  But how many times has a hurting person lashed out–intentionally using something that they know will cause a heart-strike to another?

Think about a married couple who are fighting.  As the fight escalates, what happens?  The barbs and words get more and more cutting, more and more destructive.

If someone doesn’t know how to break that cycle, it devolves into chaos, anger, and ultimately the destruction of the marriage and quite possible the spirits and souls of the people in them.IYB 1-14-2014

And that’s the way some people are taught to fight emotionally–take them out before you get taken out.  So when you get into helping someone, in their fear, they will do and say things meant to destroy the bond in the relationship–a heart strike.

What is so inspiring to me is that even with a point-blank heart-strike from her sister, meant to break and decimate the bond between them, Anna still never gives up.  She loves her sister, literally no matter what.

You have to see the movie to get the end of the story, but it is inspiring to me because I believe Jesus loved me THAT much too.  He was willing to die for me, to save me from destruction at the hand of evil even though I, too, had “struck Him in the heart” countless times.

He never gave up on me.  Maybe that’s why I get so inspired every time I see this movie.  It is the depiction of the type of love we are to give to others.  No, the Disney movie doesn’t drive down to the core of why, but God already showed me that part–that He loved me like that, so now I’m called to love others like that.  This was just the next piece I needed.

He’s cool like that!

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