Discussing
Kingdom beauty in Beasts of the Southern Wild

Thank you, Josh, for highlighting the grace in what I found to be a nearly impenetrable film. My favorite moment in the movie is the dinner scene, which is, in many ways, disgusting and disturbing but also strangely uplifting and triumphant. I love her and fer father's reconciliation in that scene and their community's enjoyment of the crawfish even though the crawfish were gross, and the ferociousness her father invites Hushpuppy into was troubling.

As you write about beauty "flecked with dirt," I'm reminded of a recent experience I had with my soon-to-be wife. We signed the lease on what will be our first home together and came back to her parent's place to share our excitement with them. The apartment we will soon be renting is on the third floor of its complex, and my fiancee's father has a lung condition that severely limits his ability to climb stairs. The first thing my fiancee's mother said when we told her we signed the lease was that my fiancee's father was very worried that he wouldn't be able to visit. This, of course, brought my fiancee to tears.

Every beautiful thing - every dance with a lost mother, every set of firework wings, every first home - comes "flecked with [the] dirt" of death. At least for now. Until the Kingdom comes.

Come, Lord Jesus. Come.