It was not Tom Cruise who attracted me to watch the whole movie but Cameron Diaz’s name in the movie – “June Havens”. I have never seen a movie with my name in it! It was an action-packed movie about June getting into an accidental exciting adventure with Tom who happens to be an FBI agent. They meet at an airport and Tom uses June’s suitcase to transport a precious commodity, while June is innocently on her way to her sister’s wedding in the same flight. What follows is a series of FBI agents looking for June when she lands, followed by being kidnapped from her bridesmaid dress rehearsal and Tom comes to rescue her in the midst of bullets being fired in all directions in a heart racing high speed car chase. Raised as a Tomboy around cars by her dad, June secretly enjoys all the action with Tom but thinks that she has gotten involved with a criminal of some sort, and hence tries to escape from him. One of the classic dialogues that is still stuck to me head even after the movie has ended is when Tom Cruise gives June the ultimatum “The chance of your life expectancy is here (He points his palm below her belly) With me it’s here (he points above her head) “Without me” (he points down below again) and “With me” (up above). He repeats this dialogue thrice making June look up and down sequentially, asking her to make the decision of her life to stick with him or die!! Check out the video clipping of the scene – (.08 secs) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pBFHrTfoe0&t=1s
Now this June, (yeah me!J) has been thinking about this year and invariably reminiscing about all the years of my life, as we wind up 2022. I am sure some of you are doing that too. This has been a unique year for me where I withdrew myself from the worldly pursuits and sought God intentionally. Most part of my day was spent seeking Him in His Word, worshiping Him, praying, listening to teachings and sermons, thanking Him, talking to Him as I do my grocery shopping, evening walk or even when I do the dishes. It wasn’t easy. It was a process over many days and months. I should confess I’ve never done this before – surrendering my life to His will in a complete sense (i.e without me interfering with my brilliant ideas to help God plan my life). God was a ‘take along’ in the busyness of life or a diligently ‘sort after’ Divine being only when I was in trouble or in a deep valley. I have never hung out with God, my Creator, during my good, happy days or stopped to think of Him conscientiously every step of the day. It was hard in the beginning to pull myself from my 20-year so-called productive ‘work ethic’ which I believed had made me who I am today in the worldly sense! I bet you know what I am talking about: the Mountain top moments, the achievements, the accolades, the blissful memories, the pride of such accomplishments in this adventure called ‘Life’. It took five decades to realize that one day though, we will leave everything behind except the ‘One’ who promised to be “with us” until eternity if we would just believe and trust Him with our life! When you take a moment to stop and look back at life, you realize that God was “with you”, even when you were not with Him. He was and is there with you in the dark valleys and Mountain tops. The movie is called ‘Knight and Day’ and I realize at this juncture in my life that being still and awakened to His Presence continually can make a big difference of being in the Night or Light. I realize more so this year, that His thoughts are higher than my thoughts for June’s life. This Christmas it is a good reminder for you and me that our Creator and the Creator of the Universe, the King of Kings came down to be humbly born as a little human being, as Immanuel (God with us). He asks you today, “Are you going to do life, with me or without me?” From this day forward the choice is yours! God is a gentleman who knocks on the door and waits to be let in…into your heart, to be the ‘Knight’ of your soul and life….. Oh! If only, you invite Him in….!