The Julie and Julia . . . More Good Lessons from Strange Places

I have to admit that Julie and Julia is not the kind of movie that I would want to see. But I did see it last Sunday night for a variety of reasons . . . and I learned something significant. It is like I posted, a long time about, about going with my daughter, my daughter-in-law to see a movie about the traveling pants. For the first ½ hour I thought my head was going to cave in from the brainless sucking sound . . . but then I got caught up in it . . . and really learned some important things about relationships between girls.

I went to see this movie because, ironically, the night before we had just rented Doubt, staring the same two lead female actors (Meryl Streep and Amy Adams). Secondly, going to the movie was a continuation of the celebration of our anniversary. It has been a strange year for an anniversary because the date, July 31st, Denise had just gotten home from Kenya, we had one group of out of town guests. They left one day and the next group came in the next day. So the celebration was strung along with me buying a card one day, flowers another day . . . still no dinner or formal celebration, but we had planned on going to the movie last Sunday.

The next reason was that my daughter was joining us, and because she works for the theater, we get in free when she is with us. Smilely face here.

Lastly, it was announced a day before that the leaders of the church were being summoned to a meeting Sunday night about the vision that the pastor has for autumn. He wants to preach from the book The Bait of Satan and have everyone reading the book. The theme is rooting out personal sin in the church. I have strong dismay about the book and the whole concept. So I was delighted that the movie started at 7 PM, and the church meeting started at 6 PM. So, and it did work out this way, I got to say my concerns and then speed off, like a coward, to join Denise and Amy (my daughter Amy . . . not Amy Adams) in the dark theater, to escape further frustrations.

The first minor lesson of the movie was the continuing support of my opinion that Meryl Streep is a tremendously talented and versatile actor.

But the main points that I learn, that the husbands of both Julie and Julia were examples, in my opinion, of what a good husband should be. This lesson was more powerful than any Christian book on marriage that I had read (which I can remember). I don’t know why the writer of the screenplay (Nora Ephron) created such good men, but I am thankful she did. Maybe these good men came from the real Julie's (Julie Powell) or Julia Child's lives.

It was especially true of the portrayal of Julia’s husband. I don’t know if this mirrored their real life in any way. But the little balding man looked at this big-boned woman with the high-pitched voice and over the top mannerism . . . as his goddess. Her success was what honestly drove him as a selfless man.

Most women would say that they don’t want to be anyone’s goddess . . . hmm, but I beg to differ. I know I would love to be Denise’s Superman . . . but most often I feel like her George Costanza

So that was the lesson I learned . . . two men who were deeply invested in the success of their mate and adored them despite their idiosyncrasies. That’s the kind of mate all of us deserve (per God’s original plan).