*Spoiler alert for Disney’s ‘Moana’*
I watched this animation a few weeks ago at the request of my daughter. When we got close to the end, what I saw was a woman who had been hurt. She’d had her “heart” stolen and she was one angry being, to the point of becoming a raging, volcanic erupting being.
This past weekend, my daughter requested to watch it again, so I rented it. This meant that we could watch it as many times as we wanted in a 48 hour window. We ended up watching it 3 times. Where the first time I watched it, I saw a woman who was so angry, when I watched it again, I saw the power of love and the effect. This little girl had sailed across the ocean to replace the heart of the god because her land was dying, and she knew that the only way she could save her people, was to put back the god’s heart. She makes it close to her destination, only to find a monster that was doing everything to block her path to the final place. When she successfully made it, she realized that the god was no longer there, but had been transformed into this raging monster.
What takes place is the real tear jerker. The little girl realizes that it is the god that has been transformed into the monster. She’s only trying to protect what she has left. She decides to brave it and have the monster come to her, as she walks toward the monster. You could feel the anger as the monster rushes towards the little girl, while the little girl is moving almost in slow motion. She begins singing a beautiful song that she knows her name and the stolen heart does not define her, and that this is not who you are. WOW! The once monster, completely cools and when her heart is replaced turns into the beautiful goddess who brings life to the land around her.
I know it’s an animation, but it felt personal for me. There was a time that I became someone else because of a disappointed heart. It took love to remind me that they saw me for who I was and not the person I had buried myself under. I had to feel loved, completely and securely loved, and I was able to break free of the anger, and hurt. I had to be reminded that my past and my past hurts did not define me.
What is causing you hurt? God is reminding you that none of these things define you. He wants to break you free of the things that are holding you back, so that you can go forth in the life He has for you.
Dear Lord, thank you for even animations that we can relate to that shows the redemptive power of love. We know that true love ultimately comes from you. Help us to accept this truth and to apply it to our lives.