A Feast for Antwone and Me

Living in Europe is a wonderful experience with wonderful challenges … like trying to remain cool with no AC when it’s 95 degrees! I’m making it sound more dramatic than it is. We sleep with the windows open at night to get cool air inside. Then we trap it in the morning by shutting all the windows. Our Austrian friend’s leave their homes like this throughout the day. We keep fans on to stir the air and try to keep a bit cooler. However, yesterday God gave us a wonderful reprieve from the heat; cloudy, rainy, and cool (the high was 66).

Taking advantage of this cool front, I had the pleasure of taking a walk with Addison. In our neighborhood there is a great second hand store. (Ok, if the truth be known it’s a Pawn Shop, but that just makes it sound seedy … and this place is not seedy so I like to call it my little second hand store.) Every now and then I find a good deal on a German DVD. Yesterday I found a 2003 film, Antwone Fisher. Denzel Washington was in it so I figured it was a good buy.

As the film unfolds, Antwone Fisher is an adult who is forced to go to a Psychiatrist. During the sessions, he begins to unveil his abusive childhood and we discover the root of Antwone’s life struggles: abandonment. He never felt loved, secure, or valued.

There is a scene in the movie in which Antwone is having a dream. In this dream he imagines himself the center of a large family gathering. Food in plenty is placed on the table. Guests focus on him and his place at the table. It’s very moving. I won’t spoil the movie if you haven’t seen it, but the end of the movie replays this scene, only it no longer is a dream but has become reality.


I was struck by two things.

One is the reality of this same scene being played out one day in my own life. The Bible tells me that one day I will live in heaven with God. He will have a feast prepared for me and all those who know Him. What will that be like? I could imagine me being escorted by an angel into the most beautifully Martha Stewart decorated room. Among those present at the table would be family members who have died, a childhood friend who died young, perhaps my favorite people from the Bible … like Job or Enoch … and I could in vision my Mom at the head of the table pointing to a nicely refurbished antique chair with a soft cushion on it urging me to come and sit and eat. Oh my goodness that gives me the tingles. It gives me the tingles because I know one day I will experience such a scene … only better!

I was also struck with the image of the imprisoned Antwone. He was imprissoned by his past. His heart longed to be valued and loved but his heart found no rest. To me, Antwone is a symbol of the plight of those in my country (and countries all over the world) who feel the same way. Despite cultural difference, God has put within all of us a sense of belonging … in His words … He has set eternity in our hearts. Yet most have never discovered there is freedom from the hurt in a relationship with God.

So on this cloudy, rainy, and cool Sunday morning, I sit and pray for those who like Antwone are in prison. I pray God will make me bold enough to share the key to freedom … and make you aware of those in prison around you.

There is always hope … and a feast to look forward to!!