Lessons Learned From "The Preacher's Wife"

Any one who knows me knows that Christmas is my favorite time of year.  I sing in two choirs, decorate my living space to the hilt, and enjoy the overall excitement of the season.  I am one of those people that listens to Christmas music all year long.  I am that person.

I also love Christmas movies.  Especially, "The Preacher's Wife".  It is the modern remake of the 1947 film "A Bishop's Wife" which happened to be my mother's favorite Christmas movie. The Bishop's Wife is a great classic film with David Niven as the Bishop and  Cary Grant as Dudley the Angel.   Although I grew up watching the original movie with my mom, "The Preacher's Wife" with it's contemporary flair and all Black cast spoke to me in a personal way.  I think it was the first movie that I was able to see after the birth of my son in 1996.  I went the day after Thanksgiving with my cousins, my aunt and uncle, my mom, and my then 7 year old daughter.  My husband stayed home and took care of our 11-month old baby boySince I originally viewed this movie at The Essex Green Theater in West Orange, NJ,  it  has been a constant for me regardless of the time of year that I see it.  The plot is simple and similar to "The Bishop's Wife" :  a Baptist preacher unknowingly pays too much attention to his congregation, and not enough to his dedicated wife and son. Enter Dudley, a flirtatious, sharp-dressed angel, (played by Denzel Washington)  to help the couple build a new church and, not incidentally, reignite their marriage. This all takes place in an urban setting with a beautiful Gospel soundtrack.  

But every time I watch this movie, I learn more about the film and more about my own faith in God.  Today I am watching it in the comfort of my home.  Things in my own life have changed dramatically since I first viewed this film.  My family and I have moved several times, my children have grown up. my mom and my uncle who went to see the movie with me originally  have passed on, and today I can watch this film on TV or the Internet.  Though so much has changed in my life, the resounding message of the movie about the importance of family and the constant love of God remain.    I am so comforted each time I hear Jeremiah Biggs, son of Rev. Henry Biggs say the last lines of this movie:

"Just because you can't see the air doesn't keep you from breathing. And just because you can't see God doesn't keep you from believing."

This line has been uplifting each time I watch this film.  Because I am always in a space where I am desperately believing God for something to come to pass in my life.  At every stage of my life.  And the older I get the more I need to hold onto His unchanging hand.  This film reminds me everytime of how we need to have the belief of a child and look to Him although we can't see Him as He works on our behalf.

Thank you Lord for working on me through this little movie that didn't gross much in the theater, but continues to impact me every time I watch it.