And the Nominees for Best Picture are...

The Academy Awards will air this weekend, but I won’t watch.  This should be expected considering I haven’t seen any of the Best Picture nominees (although I have seen the trailers (I’m personally rooting for Selma to take the big honor!)).  I find the awards show more of a bloated, studio-fueled spectacle than an actual celebration of film’s power to energize and inspire.  However, the Oscars do provide a moment to highlight some of cinema’s higher achievements.  I’m certainly not a movie-nut by any measure, but there are a few that have proven to endear and edify.  So here it goes, I present to you the nominees for “Brent’s All-Time Personal Best Picture Award” (in alphabetical order):

Babe

This barnyard fairy tale combines simple storytelling, endearing characters and undeniable sincerity to tell a story that is surprisingly inspiring and deep.  In the form of a humble piglet, Babe reminds us to not settle for what the world expects us to be, but aspire to what the master believes we can be.  When Farmer Hogget gives his timeless “That’ll do pig,” he might as well be saying “Well done good and faithful servant.” 

Broken Trail

Technically it’s a miniseries, not a cinema film.  And technically it isn’t all that great, but I have a soft spot in my heart for westerns and Broken Trail has managed to find it.  The story and acting are little more than satisfactory, but the landscapes are magnificent.  Sometimes, good scenery is all I need to be pleasantly entertained.  Good scenery and Robert Duvall.

Incendies (Canada)

This French-language film dramatizes factual events from the Middle East to deliver a haunting story that will (somehow) leave you both emotionally depleted and surprisingly uplifted.  The content is especially hard to watch in light of the conflicts raging throughout the region, yet this is what makes it so very important and timely.  Few films manage to mix the complexities of war’s death and hope’s life like Incendies.  It’s a tough watch, but it’s a must watch.

Once (Ireland)

Is it a film or is it a soundtrack?  Either way, Once utilizes utter simplicity to create one of modern cinema’s most genuine and heart-felt tellings of a ‘love story.’  The songs will draw you in and hold you for a long while, but it is the sincere portrait of human-connection that will remain when the music fades.

The Shawshank Redemption

It doesn't boast the highest of acting, slickest of scripts, or fanciest of technical execution, but no other film so gracefully weaves all the elements of movie-making into a piece of storytelling like The Shawshank Redemption.  The love-story-as-friendship-story only gets better with time and (my own personal) maturation.  Some call it overrated, but that’s okay; it will keep landing on “best film” lists for centuries to come.

Toy Story

My father took me to a special-preview showing of Toy Story when I was a boy.  I walked into the theater having no idea what to expect and walked out in a state of sheer wonder and delight.  This is the magic that films are supposed to capture.  Though it set new marks in technical achievement, the strength lies in simply telling a story that resonates with all.  Toy Story is not just one of the best films of all time; it’s one of the great moments in entertainment history.

Warrior

Any movie that can make a room full of teenage boys cry is a movie that got something right.  The story centers on an Ultimate Fighting Championship tournament, but it really examines an arena featuring much harder punches: family.  The acting and directing hit all the right marks to show life’s painfully-sweet journey of forgiveness and reconciliation.  Just wait until the closing scene; rough masculinity has never rendered such tender softness.

And grace shall lead us home!

 She’s fourth-generation Dar El Awlad on one side of her family and third-generation on the other, but the important thing is this: Yasmine Joy is home!  After a very long seven days, Ruth and I are thankful and relieved to have our daughter with us in full health. It has been a rainy winter’s week around here but this little girl is rays of sunshine!

When it comes to Dar El Awlad, Yasmine is only the most recent of many hundreds of children who have arrived over the past near-70 years to call this place a home.  It is a special thought that her parents, grandparents, great grandparents and a host of other blood relatives can share the claim.  The homeyness goes beyond blood connection; however, and we are surrounded by a community of many dozens ready to play their part in fulfilling the proverb that “it takes a village to raise a child.”  What a blessing that God has placed us where we are, yet we regret the distance that separates us from many loved once.  Surely the future holds meaningful moments for Yasmine to discover her global network of special friends and family.

After more than seven years of contributing to Dar El Awlad’s mission or raising children, Ruth and I suddenly find ourselves with our very own.  This is naturally a ‘unique case,’ but the hope for Yasmine is the same hope for every child that passes through the ministry: to experience the transforming power of Jesus Christ so that they are enabled to give hope to others.  It is not about religion, doctrine or sect, but rather the discovery of each individual’s true identity in the loving heart of God. 

The 4^th century Church Father St. John Chrysostom, despite never having children of his own, has left a rich collection of biblical teachings on the ultimate, heaven-centered goal of child rearing.  He emphatically heartens parents and caregivers to “seek not how (a child) shall enjoy a long life here, but how he shall enjoy a boundless life hereafter.”  In language that relevantly resonates even centuries down the line, Chrysostom charges us with an earnest plea: “Raise up an athlete for Christ!”[i]  This is what we aim to do as Dar El Awlad as well as The Hamouds.

We are thrilled with our little girl.  Mommy is deepening a love that has been growing for many months.  Daddy is often at a loss of words, but never at a loss of pride and joy in creation’s theatrics that continue to play out in front of him.  Our supreme prayer for Yasmine is the same for every child: that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith- that they, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that they may be filled with all the fullness of God! (Epesians 3:17-18).  Amen!

---

[i] Chrysostom, John. “An address on Vainglory and the Right Way for Parents to Bring Up Their Children”

Ruth and her special works of art (I like them both, but the one she's holding is my favorite).

Getting settled into home 

Oh dear, we're already being targeted by marketers.

A Necessary Separation is not an Easy Separation

Ruth and I are thrilled to share that on the evening of Monday, February 2^nd our Yasmine[i] Joy Hamoud joined us in the open world weighing in at a sturdy 6 lbs 5 ounces.  The birth happened earlier than expected but we have no complaints; we could hardly wait any longer for our girl to be with us.  There were some complications with the labor that have contributed to a challenging first week for Yasmine.  The umbilical cord was wrapped around her leg, which required Ruth to have a c-section. Yasmine’s breathing was hampered by fluids in the lungs and she was immediately placed in neonatal intensive care in order to get all her systems functioning at full strength.  She’s making great improvement but still needs some time.  So after 9 months of waiting for my baby to come out, I have to wait some more for the chance to hold her in my arms as my heart long desires.  Ruth is making a good recovery at home.  She has been such a champion through this entire pregnancy and birth; she has slipped into the role of mother with grace, wisdom and strength.  I love her so very much and only wish Yasmine were near to ease her discomfort.

The waiting is not easy (it never is) but we are ever mindful of the provisions bestowed on Yasmine.  She has the deepest affections of adoring parents, an international network of family and friends offering constant love and prayers, financial resources to access necessary care, modern medicine to give life a helpful boost, and a claim to citizenship and official identification (which millions of children around the world are in fact denied).  Far too many babies lack the essentials that Yasmine has been gifted, and I regret that her own Hamoud relatives are among those many.  Our comfort is that Yasmine’s most important provision is that which has been provided to all:  the unending love of a faithful, mighty God who promises His nearness.  We find great peace in this enduring Truth.

Yasmine is going to be just fine; we know she is in good hands.  Our frustration is simply that she is not our hands.  We regret that we have to leave our daughter with others so that she can receive care that we cannot give.  We indeed see the necessity of this, though we naturally dislike the reality of separation.  Being home is not satisfying when part of home is not with us.  There is a lot of lurking temptation in this trial of waiting.  We are tempted towards feeling disappointed for missing a part of parenthood experience we have long imagined.  There is the inclination to entertain ideas of doubt about the decisions and methods of the medical team.  Then we must contend with the ugly attack of guilt that we are letting our child down by not being with her to care for her in these vulnerable hours.  These are vile temptations that we resist with truth and faith.  It is a struggle, but it is one where we do not struggle alone.  I eagerly await the moment when we can finally feel that which we know: Yasmine is here!

This struggle of separation from Yasmine has allowed me to reflect on the situation of the children living at Dar El Awlad.  The boys in our residential program are likewise in a vulnerable state.  For a variety of reasons their birth families are not able to provide for their needs at this time, and we believe that Dar El Awlad is a place where children can have these urgent needs met.  This requires a separation.  It is a separation that may be understandable and necessary, but there is pain and heartache in it nonetheless.  Yasmine is tiny; she will not remember the time her parents had to leave her behind in the hospital so that she could get the help she needed in order to move ahead in her life.  Our children are not so small, and they will not forget the hardship of leaving their family in order to get a better chance for a future.  Their parents may have made the right choice but I know it is not an easy choice.  My own family history is evidence of this bittersweet.

My grandmother did not place my father in Dar El Awlad, but she did keep him here.  There was a moment many, many years ago when she intended to take him home with her but ultimately decided to let him stay.  She could not deny that my father had an opportunity at Dar El Awlad that she could never provide.  The result of this decision is that they, mother and son, spent 90% of their lives in separation.  However, there are other outcomes of this decision, one of which just entered the world this week.  A lot was lost in separation, but I am of the opinion that even more was gained.

I believe that we at Dar El Awlad must always take separation into account.  We must remember that the hurt our children endure each day that they are away from their families.  Likewise, we must honor the sacrifice of the dozens of parents who have, for the sake of their children, chosen the pain of separation over the delight of nearness.  It is our joy when we see this separation end and our children return to the place where every child is meant to be: the care of a secure, healthy home with loved ones.  It is a pleasure that Ruth and I dearly hope to experience very soon.  My arms are ready to hold Yasmine for the first time; I cannot wait until she is ready too!

---

[i] Yasmine is Arabic for Jasmine.  It’s pronounced yes-mean.  

First picture with my girls

....(lost for words)...