Life Lessons From Beauty & The Beast

A few months ago I dug out a Princess Sing Along DVD that had long been hidden in the back of the DVD cabinet due to the fact that Hattie was MUCH more interested in things like Diego and, well ... mud. Princess were NOT on her radar and she wanted nothing to do with them. When choosing a Disney movie, my sweet little tomboy was more than happy with the likes of Cars and The Incredibles.

Umm, excuse me any Disney big wigs that may be reading this here little blog (HA!!) - why do you not make Cars & Incredible PJ's for girls? Girls do like these movies too. Same goes for you Mr. Nickelodeon Executive! Diego nighties would be MORE than welcome here in our abode! Thanks!!

(Sorry, just had to rant - tension breaker, had to be done!)

Anyhoo - as I was saying. Princess were, for the most part, unknown in these parts!

UNTIL, Sophie became old enough to voice her little opinion.

SO, we dug out the DVD and popped it in. Within 3 minutes BOTH girls were decked out in Princess dresses and mesmerized by the music on TV. I think that we watched it 5 or 21 times that day. And as they watched, they learned the movements and eventually learned to sing along with their new best friends. And THAT made this girly mama VERY happy!

Since then we (and by we, I mean I and all of my garage saleing diva friends!!!)have been on a desperate hunt for Princess movies. So far we have found Cinderella & Snow White - (PS, Disney peeps, I have a word for you on your little Vault Marketing scheme ... er, I mean, idea... when you get a minute!). BUT, this weekend we went to Hubb's sister's house to swim and I saw a ginormous stack of DVD's ... CHILDREN'S DVDs! A stack in which I found the treasure that is known as Beauty & The Beast.

Oh, the joy!!!!

So of COURSE, even though "Auntie Weezer" was out of town the girls and I "borrowed" her copy of musical-princess-wonderment and brought her home!

These two little girls were entranced from the very first moment. Now, truth be told, there were a few times that the show got a little too intense and sent Hattie hiding behind the chair or under the kitchen counter, but she never retreated so far away that the movie could not be heard. She kept on listening until she knew it was safe to come back out.

SO, as I am watching them I think to myself, wow - this is SO much like my relationship with GOD.

*stick with me on this one ...*

I was introduced to God early on, but really was not all that interested. I liked other things better, so I just kinda stuffed God back in the cabinets of my heart. But as I got older I became a bit more interested. And one day I was REALLY introduced to God - at a Billy Graham Crusade - and I was suddenly very aware of Him. I wanted to dress myself In God, learn to follow His moves and Learn HIS words.

I wanted to be a Princess ... a daughter of the King!

Little did I know that that was just the beginning of the adventure - there was a whole world of God and His beauty out there waiting for me.

But, as I started to see the whole big picture of who God is, there were times it all got a little too intense for me. Times when I ran away from it all and tried to hide. But I KNEW that I didn't REALLY want to be away from all of that GOODNESS, so I never went so far away that I could not hear Him. I just listened until I knew it was safe to come out again ... safe to keep learning and growing in the knowledge of who He is.

Eventually I came to learn that the only TRULY safe place was in that presence. With Him. I realized I had to stay in His arms until the scary stuff passed because that was the ONLY place where safety lay. That was the only place where the real adventure could be found. And it is the only place where I could SEE the beauty that IS my Sweet, Sweet Lord. Face to Face with the One who IS the adventure.

So, today we have watched Beauty & The Beast 1 or 7 times. Hattie is slowly coming out of hiding. She is seeing more and more of the whole movie each time we watch it. She is starting to sing along and learn the dances. She is starting to follow along ...

The other DVD that has played in this house a few (dozen) times a day recently is the one with the music that they learned at VBS.

And, in the weeks that they have been watching THIS DVD they have been singing THESE songs more and more. Doing THESE actions more and more. Following along with THIS adventure more and more.

So, this morning, after watching Beauty & The Beast - AGAIN - we put in the VBS one. As I watched two tiny sets of hands join mine in the air, in their own version of worship, I began to cry.

And I began to pray that they learn, much younger than I did, that the TRUE adventure can ONLY be found at the feet of the One who can and WILL keep them under His protection through it all.

And what better lesson can this simple - girly - mama teach her children?