Warning: Thematic Elements

Have you ever wondered at a movie rating that says "PG-13 for THEMATIC ELEMENTS"? Seriously, what on earth does that mean...? My sister and I love going on sister movie-dates at the mall. But we really don't get the point of those silly ratings. In fact, we determined that if "Thematic Elements" were a truly legitimate reason for a PG-13 movie, than our daily lives must be "PG-13, too. Because we have quite a few "thematic elements" swirling around. And that's what I'm here to write about: The themes we have in our lives, and how horribly they can sometimes effect us.


I've always known the saying "history repeats itself" to be true, but I've only recently discovered how often it is true. You see, for me, it doesn't just repeat itself once every couple hundred years, like it does for the rest of the world (with the exceptions of a select few). Rather, history repeats itself daily. My life seems to have a common theme that's been shoved in my face, every day for the past couple years.

Sometimes I don't know how to cope with it. Because every day, it's a new burden. It's not just the same theme, but a new avenue by which to see that theme. It's a new situation - new problem - different circumstances - but yet, it's always the same message:

You'll never, really be loved. Because everyone in your life will leave, at some point.

Whether it's my Dad, leaving... or the person I really loved, leaving... Or friends, leaving, every day, someone's leaving.
That's the thematic element of my life.
It's really enough to make me mad. And at times, I am . . . Because I've always thought of myself as a pretty loyal person. Even though my Dad left, I still love him. All the people who drift in and out of my life? I still love them, too. I always will. But that doesn't change the theme.

You'll never, really be loved. Because everyone in your life will leave, at some point.

Every day, like clockwork, I'm faced with the choice to get mad because of the theme, or use it to grow. Satan, like he did with Job, will turn a single bad experience into a string of unparalleled catastrophes. He likes making things look like you will never get out. He wants you in a box - because he knows it's where you're least dangerous.

I guess my encouragement to my readers today is that sometimes - it looks hopeless. It really, really does. The thematic elements of life can drag you down and keep you confined to a sort of "limbo" state, questioning God's plan, unable to get yourself out. I know that the theme Satan is trying to indoctrinate me with is completely and totally wrong, but he's using his age-old technique - Repetition. Maybe, if I only get bombarded enough with it, I'll start believing it. May God's grace keep me from ever falling into that trap!

So, yeah. There may be a few thematic elements in your life. Don't let it keep you from enjoying the movie.