In this movie, Kay Eiffel is an author who kills off the heroes in her books. She is struggling to complete her book because she cannot find an acceptable way to kill Harold (perhaps she is looking for the heroic death?). Yet, Harold tracks her down and asks her to reconsider and she begins to contemplate the implications of her part in the story. As she sits with the professor near the end of the movie, she explains her sudden change from one ending to another ending:
Because it's a book about a man who doesn't know he's about to die. And then dies. But if a man does know he's about to die and dies anyway. Dies- dies willingly, knowing that he could stop it, then- I mean, isn't that the type of man who you want to keep alive?The conversation between the professor and Harold after the professor had read the book was also revealing. During the conversation Harold was asking if there was any way out because Harold was sure the professor would have a solution and Harold was ready to do what he said. I imagined Jesus, in his most human moment asking that, too. He knew what he was going to do and in that moment, Harold became more resolute as well.
Men of Valor. They are rare, because most of us are trying to hang onto our lives so tightly that our lives are of no benefit to others. I'd imagine there was a moment of complete freedom and peace that Jesus experienced as a human when he surrendered his life. Not in the moments in heaven when discussions first began a long time ago. I refer to the actual, impending and inevitably of death which was closing fast on Him.
There were so many moments in this film that grabbed me, I do not think I can pick out just one, yet one is worth pointing to as a truth which I hope would resonate with any man or woman.
Harold Crick is about to die, he knows it and is about his tasks leading up to his death. He is going to willingly lay down his life because it is, as he tells Kay Eiffel after he read her manuscript, "a beautiful story". He's read the book and realized his story is beautiful. Death as poetry. Courage is freedom. Valor is peace.
This is the first time I've looked at death in terms of poetry, of beauty. But then I am reminded of the Psalmist who wrote as much in Psalm 116:15. Yet, what is even more profound is Harold doing what must be done, fulfilling the order of things, and laying down his life. I cannot put into words what this did in me, only that it struck me as profoundly Christ like, of giving what I cannot keep to gain something I cannot lose; of willingly laying down in order to truly live. Try to carry that truth with you daily.
Of course, daily dying is what God calls me to...today. Today is all we receive and it is a gift. There is much to be appreciated about today and it is all started by the people around us whom God has woven into the fabric of us. For me, it starts with my wonderful wife and my two dear precious sons. I cannot imagine a sweeter thought right now in this moment than them. It is in this moment I am so awakened to the reality of God and his work to orchestrate the events leading to each of the events in my life...which has led me to this moment.
As Harold took a bite of Bavarian sugar cookie, he finally felt as if everything was going to be ok. Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true. And, so it was, a wristwatch saved Harold Crick.God saves our lives, not just once at the Cross, but each day, with his handiwork by which He has put people in our story to make it complete. God makes our lives complete, fills it up with himself and I have no other end but in him. Yet, God also grants us today with a tapestry of events which, one could argue, could have be different if only we would have done something sooner, later, last year? Well, God can change your destiny. He can change the ending of your story. He changed mine. He is the author of life and death and he gives daily hints. The awakening to his hints are the great delights along the way.
