01 March 2007

truly amazing!

i went to see a movie Tuesday night that shook me... a movie that stayed with me into my sleep... all night...i couldn't escape it... i was there inside the movie...really not just the movie but the whole history of what the movie is about....
see long before this movie was made i have known the story because of the years of mission work i have done in the stop hold...i have fallen in love with the area and the people...come to care about the culture so i started researching it years ago to learn all i could not just about who they are now...but where they came from...what their story really is...i had seen a movie years ago...that one haunted me too...it kept me awake at night and tormented my dreams when i did sleep ... that movie...Amistad... and this one? Amazing Grace
both movies speak about the horror that we (yes i do mean we)inflicted on people who we saw as lower- that we cast out and counted and nothing- less than- we claimed them as property- as something that could be bought, traded, beaten, and discarded. we treat them as people- as humans- but as objects...
Jamaica a land- a island... a place i have come to love because of the 11 years of mission work i have done there.. is there because it was a stop-hold for the slave ships... it was a place we.. and others used to sort though the 'good' and the 'bad' ...if you have ever been it is a beautiful place..and i am not talking the resorts- because those are not beautiful- in fact they are a picture of modern day slavery and injustice... not one is owned by the Jamaica's... it is sad...
...
but the movie... amazing grace... wow... it is awe inspiring... one of the best done movies i have seen in a long time! to watch the story of john newton unfold before you.. to hear his tales... to see the pain... to hear the conviction to FIGHT in Wilberforce... I only HOPE i can be that strong in what i believe... when he stands... or sits listening to the still small voice of God speaking calling him to speak on behalf of those who can not speak for themselves...that is inspiring...inspiring today...

God speaks... God asks us to speak for those who do not have a voice... what are you doing? ... i know i am not doing enough and need to do more... i am moved and inspired not just by a movie of things in the past...but by some amazing young men- and now a whole stinking movement Invisible Children and how so many are speaking for so many with out voices... i am inspired by a young man Zach Hunter and what he is doing at only 15 (and he started at 12!- so don't use your age as an excuse!)... what are you doing? what are you going to do? Slavery is real today...in fact more real today than all those years ago... stand up and get a voice! ...you can even link up with the movie at the Amazing Change site.. do it! do something- you have a voice... use it.... oh an if you haven't see the movie... see it.. educate your mind and your heart!

walking with purpose!
lizzy

2 comments:

Penny said...

Lizzy, I read your blog with tears in my eyes. The film still has the same impact on me and I've seen it more than a dozen times. I head up The Amazing Change campaign and am so encouraged by people like you who are determined to make their lives count -- but most importantly to make them count for others. Thank you for seeing the film and encouraging others to do so. I believe a good story told well can be one of the most powerful tools for moving the hearts of people. If you haven't yet signed the petition to abolish slavery, it would be great if you would lend your voice in that way.

Grace, peace and justice
Penny

Lizzy Robblee said...

already done! but signing my name is not even enough... something...but not enough! In the past I have given to International Justice Mission, Invisible Children (still support their efforts), ...I still do work in Jamaica and support children and families there... but it never seems to be enough...and movies like Amazing Grace remind me....I am not doing enough..I am not using my voice enough...God gifted me with a voice...a loud voice...a convicted voice...why do I let it be silent?