I love watching my daughter’s cartoons with her. I find that there are many lessons behind the surface of what appears to be humor. This particular animation was the original ‘Kung Fu Panda’.
The Panda was accidentally cast as the dragon warrior. Or was it an accident? As the master (turtle) had neared his time, he pleaded with master Schifu to give Po, the Panda, a chance. From the moment Po had been selected as the dragon warrior, the other trainees were upset and disappointed. They had been training for the role for years, and here came an unprepared, an unqualified, and an unfit Panda out of nowhere, and took the coveted position.
At the outset, all the other trainees, including the master Schifu treated Po poorly. They talked bad about him both in front of his face and behind his back. Even he knew he was unqualified for the position, but he took every jab with grace and humor, and never gave up. When he was about to give up, the master turtle met him, and reminded him of the reason he was there and why he was the one selected. He had something the others did not. And he had been hand selected for the role, as unqualified as he was and felt. The master turtle then convinced master schifu that he too needed to start believing in Po, and to help to train him for his position.
When master schifu realized that he needed to give Po a fair chance, he realized he couldn’t use the same tactic that he had used to train the others, he had to meet Po with the thing that would interest him: food. And he did just that.
Po goes on to defeat the bad guy in the end. How?
What are some of the lessons I learned and how can I apply it to my faith journey?
God rarely calls those we think are qualified. He meets us where we are and qualifies us.
When there are times that we start doubting ourselves, he sends us reminders that we are hand selected, and not an accident.
There are roles that we are selected for, that only we can fulfill, but we need to recognize that.
The key to success is never giving up, no matter how we feel.
How did Po defeat the bad guy, when five warrior dragon trainees could not? His father finally told him the secret recipe for the delicious noodles. It was nothing. There was no secret recipe. Po then realized that whatever he thought he had lacked, had been within him all along, but he needed to recognize, believe and acknowledge it.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the lessons you provide all around us. Help us not to miss these lessons, and to learn how to apply them in our lives. Help us to recognize what you are calling us to do, and to acknowledge that it’s only through you that we can accomplish them. And Lord, when we can’t believe in ourselves, please send others to remind us of what you see in us.