Build Your Own ARK

One of our favorite movies currently is EVAN ALMIGHTY. Although it was made in 2007, we did not stumble upon it until last month thanks to great friends.  WOW!  We would have missed a lot if we hadn’t added that movie to our Netflix queue

In Evan Almighty (the sequel to Bruce Almighty), Evan Baxter wins a congressional seat then moves his wife, Joan and three sons to Washington. One night Joan prays for them to become closer as a family, and Evan prays to figure out a way to “change the world,” which was his campaign slogan. God appears and tasks Evan into building an ark.

As Evan begins his journey of faith, we find that he is not living with his beliefs: his agenda is all about appearance and power, climbing the corporate ladder at the expense of his family. People who want to “change the world” typically don’t know where to begin, often overlooking the obvious in starting where they are… starting at home… starting with oneself.

The back & forth resistance Evan and Evan’s conversation with God, not realizing that the answer to his prayers may not be the kind of answers he had in mind.  A great lesson and reminder to all of us - God’s plans are not always a part of our plans!  For example praying for love or patience may result in God giving us opportunities to love or to be patient. 

Boy, did I learn as a religious education teacher at our church.  I prayed for patience & knowledge for this set of second graders and God’s answers to my prayers (opportunities) were a class of 14 boys and 4 girls – and that was improved from the 16:2 ratio that was on my initial roster and a co-teacher who was older than me, has years of experience, lived in Calcutta, India as a teen and met Mother Theresa.  These were the best answered prayers and I have had an amazing year!!!  

Sorry for the tangent, back to the movie - Evan’s journey of faith not only tests his faith, but also the love of his family.  By having Evan build the ark, things change with his political position and due to circumstances (they think he’s having a mid-life crisis), he is suspended… however, that suspension allowed him more time with his family… it was God’s answer to Joan’s original prayer to be closer as a family.

My favorite part of the movie (I don’t want to tell the entire story, but highly recommend you and your family watch it) is at the end when God and Evan talk about their mission to change the world and by building an ark he was able to do so.  And we all can build our own ark to change the world… How? By building our own A-R-K… Act [of] Random Kindness.  Wow! This was so powerful and speaks volumes to me as a gratitude girl and one who always finds a way to start the pay-it-forward motion. 

The ARK is wht I feel we demonstrate with our family, friends and strangers as we returned to sending real cards... real mail to celebrate all the milestones... A card for losing a first tooth, TAKS test anxiety, cutting hair for Locks of Love, turning 16, turning 40, birthdays, holidays, and so many things in between. We are blessed to have so many friends in so many places after moving twelve years with the Navy.  You, our friends are like extended family and we want you to feel appreciated as much as we know in our heart.  And as happy the receiver may feel when the card arrives, I need to tell you that we feel the same warmth as the sender of the card.

I hope you’ll get a chance to watch this movie and feel the same calling to “change the world” and build your own A-R-K... no matter what your ARK is or who it is for. The movement starts with one person and one action...  And have no fear - I believe in you!  --Danielle