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panoramic photo of bushes near pond

I finally watched Mitch Teemley’s movie, “Healing River” He mentions it at the link, along with some other screen gems to check out.  Free on Amazon Prime right now, too.

What can I say? Mitch is just such a wonderful storyteller. It was really good. You should totally watch it. I was blessed, it was just what my soul needed, and with such perfect timing, too.

I honestly don’t know what makes me cry more, happy things or sad things?  There are lots of both in this movie and it’s hard to tell the difference sometimes. I mean, it’s not good for your heart to be shattered, broken, for you to be wounded, right? Except, if that’s how the love pours in, through all those cracks, if that’s how the Lord moves into your life and brings healing, well then, thank God for broken hearts.

Thank God when we are wounded, willing to feel the pain, rather than hardened.

It was a really validating movie too, because I’m looking around at a world that often doesn’t make any sense and trying to talk to people who are totally tone deaf. I feel a bit like a broken record sometimes, always talking about meth, fentanyl, and heroin addictions, in an area that is so pro-drugs, so pro-addiction! People are out on the streets right now crying out for justice, but justice from what?? And what does this “justice” they crave even look like?

I spend half my life trying to forgive addicts whose behavior does nothing but steal, kill, and destroy all that is good, and the other half of my time trying to forgive those in leadership who have enabled and condoned the whole situation either through their incompetence or their corruption. It’s really painful, it’s really frustrating, but it’s not a bad thing at all, because it is all about learning to love others as Jesus loves us.

photo of river against mountain background

“Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” Both Matthew and Mark take note of the fact that this is the gospel, that this truth, the reflective nature of grace, is so vitally important that, “Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

“Healing River” did a really good job of capturing the essence of that truth. When we have been forgiven much, we love much.

We have been forgiven much.