Today Crystal and I went to see the movie, “A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood”.  Crystal and I both enjoyed the film immensely: it had humor, some action, yet it was sad at times.  Tom Hanks, one of my favorite actors, portrayed Mr. Fred Rogers; Fred is also lovingly known as Mr. Rogers in case you did not know.  I thought Tom Hanks did a tremendous job with the role, but I expected nothing less from him as he is very talented.

I remember watching Mr. Rogers at Grandma Tilley’s house, as she kept me every day of the week when I was young.  I used to sing along with the songs Mr. Rogers sang if I knew them, but my favorite thing about the show was the small puppet characters; the show made me feel safe and at peace.  Who knows; maybe Mr. Rogers helped me become a slightly better person.  I do not expect there to be another Mr. Rogers; especially in this day and age, which is pretty sad.  I am not going into detail about the movie because I do not want to ruin it for you.

I have to admit, I even cried a couple of times during the movie, but I think the main reason I got emotional is the fact that Mr. Rogers has moved on.  We need Mr. Rogers now more than ever!  If you happen to disagree, just turn on the news or ESPN, and you will see what I am talking about.  There is so much hate and injustice in the world, and in our own Country; however, now that I think about it, we do have the documentary “Mr. Rogers” and now the movie “A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood” to remind us to take our anger out in ways that do not hurt people, and learn to forgive.

I must say I have gotten pretty good at forgiving people; mainly because the Bible says to forgive or God will not forgive us, and I used to let so many friends and loved ones down I want to be forgiven as well, so that plays a large role in wanting to forgive.   Some of the things I have done in the past are probably unforgivable, but I am trying not to live in the past, as I can not move forward if I do so.  I consider all my heinous doings learning experiences, but I still have a long way to go.

God’s grace is what gets me through: when you have His grace you don’t beat yourself up quite as bad when you backslide, and we are going to make mistakes.  Forgiveness is a difficult thing to do for someone that has done you wrong, and perhaps it is even more difficult to forgive ourselves; I believe it is improbable to forgive ourselves if we do not love ourselves unconditionally; I do not know about you, but I love myself as I long to be loved in all my imperfections.  “For nothing shall be impossible with God”. Luke 1:37.

Luke 1:37 is my life verse, because I have seen the impossible, and I have experienced the impossible; this does not make me a better Christian or person than you, it just means I have earnestly sought God, and I was rewarded.  I am still seeking God today, but I do not do it for rewards; I simply want to know Him more!  Surfers talk about the search for the perfect ride, but I am searching for God!  I believe Fred Rogers sought God as well; how else could someone be so darn nice.  I understand I am not in the same league as Mr. Rogers, but I would like to think I understand where he was coming from.

Let us all try to be a little more neighborly in this modern world; we could definitely use a little neighborly love in our society.  All we have to do is take notes from the Bible and Fred Rogers.  Maybe our society is afraid to put ourselves out there with our hearts on our sleeves.  Maybe …

I love you all!

Take care and God bless!

Chris