Finding Neverland

My wife and I went to see "Finding Neverland" last night; starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. It was a fairly decent film. Then again, I have found most Johnny Depp films to be remarkably good.

The viewing was especially interesting for Michele and I because we are literally on the verge (3 days and counting) of becoming parents. "Finding Neverland" is a tale of how J.M. Barrie's playful relationship with a widowed mother and her sons leads to the creation of the classic children's story, "Peter Pan." Depp's J.M. Barrie is an eccentric playwright who cultivates imagination and hope in a family who deals with some significant familial deaths. His character constantly talks about belief and innocent joy as paths to understanding, healing, and happiness.

I was particularly struck by the film's accounts of viewing the world as a child. Barrie playacts with the sons and invites them to view the world as a child for as long as they can before they must enter the world of adulthood. At various times, Barrie says, "Those boys should never go to sleep. They always wake up a day older." Later in the story when one of the boys makes a defensive assertion for his mother, Barrie says, "Look at that. Just like that, the boy is gone. He's become a man."

As I move into fatherhood, I wonder how my children will affect the way that I view the world. I fear that as time has passed on, my cynicism and my worldly outlook have grown to such immense levels that I can no longer simply "play." I wonder if I can give my children a similar innocent outlook on life.

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 18: 3-4) I believe that innocence and un-biased acceptance of others are some of the traits that Jesus referred to when he said that we should become like little children. I wonder if he didn't also mean the ability to see the world as a place full of magic and wonder; not despair and desolation.

Will I be able to humble myself as a child?