How a Bad Movie Showed Me the Best in My Man
It’s Marriage Monday over at Chrysalis, and today’s topic is ROMANCE.
* * * * *
Five minutes in, I knew this was a bad movie.
Rampant drinking. Casual sex. Banal conversation. Everything hate in a movie. And since I’m not a movie-lover to start with, watching this one was torture.
Why did I stick it out?
Because my husband had been so eager in telling me, “I’ve got a cute ‘chick flick’ for us to watch together tonight!”
Because I’ve shot him down so many times before, it’s a miracle he still tries. (I would have left me a long long time ago!)
Because I’ve been trying to be obedient to God’s leading to “say yes” or “say nothing” in my marriage.
So, we watched, and I said nothing.
Out loud, that is.
Inside, however, I was thinking, This is a colossal waste of time! I could be working on my graduate project. I could be grading. I could be blogging. Instead, I’m sitting here listening to brain cells scream as they die slow deaths from starvation.
We paused at the half-way point.
All the next day, I pondered: Why are we watching such a bad movie?
Daniel’s normally more sensitive than I to raunchy content. But this time, he glossed it over, focusing instead on the “great ending.”
There’s something in this movie, beyond the improbable plot, that he wants me to see. There’s something he’s needs these unsympathetic characters, despite their dreadful dialogue, to tell me.
It better be deeper than “lots of sex is lots of fun.”
So we settle down to finish watching the movie. Daniel points out how the roles are reversed: the guy has fallen for the girl but she doesn’t want a commitment. He wants to come closer; she stays away.
Ouch. Is this what he wants me to see? “You’re too cold and distant?”
After what feels like hours, we come to the first funny line of dialogue. In an over-the-top cheesy scene, our hapless hero haltingly tells the girl, “I’m warning you, if you take one step closer, I’m never letting you go.”
About to burst out laughing, I sneak a sideways glance at Daniel.
My husband’s shining eyes are focused forward, and he’s discretely wiping away tears.
Confused, I say nothing. After the movie jerks to an awkward end, I mutter something about being grateful that our relationship isn’t nearly that complicated. Daniel holds me close, and we drift off to sleep.
Days later, it dawns on me.
He didn’t want me to see the movie so I could recognize, and perhaps reform, my own work-obsessed impersonal nature.
He didn’t even want me to see the movie for all the “isn’t sex fun?!?” scenes.
He wanted me to see the movie to communicate one simple message:
I’m never letting you go.
Oh My!! I’m glad I read this to the end!! What a wonderful husband!! I hope you showed him this to let him know you saw that! Lovely!
Jennifer x
Aw, that’s cute. 🙂 My husband also loves watching movies with me (we’ll probably watch The Social Network tonight, which I’m interested in but he’s not). Watching love stories together – even if they are cheesy or too “sexy” or corny – is a good way to remember why we love each other. 🙂
In a world where casual sex is rampant, marriages wither and die on the vine and hardly anyone remains faithful anymore, we need to hear that we will never be let go! Sweet post!
Connie
A lovely lovely post. I found you through Titus 2sDays. But I’m wracking my brain trying to figure out which movie that was!!!
Cindy @ Apron Strings and Apple Trees
http://apronstringsandappletrees.blogspot.ca
Now I’m wiping tears. That is beautiful. I appreciate your honesty. I believe many will be blessed by this post. I was.
Such a sweet, sweet post.
So glad you stuck it out. Wow! (I guess I’ll have to watch a few Star Trek re-runs now. Sigh.) Loved the happy ending!
Thanks for joining us for Marriage Monday today, Cheri.
Blessings, e-Mom @ Chrysalis ღ
That is so sweet! I think you’ve got romance nailed.
How sweet. I hope you talked about it later. I’m dying to know what was going through his head!