The Horse Whisperer with Paul McDonald and Rob Porter
Coming up on the Men at the Movies podcast, Rob Porter and I discuss the Horse Whisperer. We see how trauma can become a holy invitation to walk with God. But in order to deal with our pain, we must create boundaries in order to create space. And if we can do that, we can become a man like Tom: A man who knows who he is, where he belongs, and what he has to offer. Join us as we discover God’s truth in this movie.
Quotes
Trauma can take us into transformation.
We are invited into a holy invitation to walk with God.
Our children’s trauma brings our trauma back to life.
The only way we can create space is to create boundaries.
If you made room for your life to speak, what would it say?
Our pain and our joy is an invitation to get closer to God
Themes
“Trust me one more time.”
What does it mean to pierce the veneer?
What is the “something else” we need to make room for?
Annie is the one who is transformed in this movie.
She is living in a place of unhealed trauma. That unhealed place had led her to become a driven and cold person. “Just give me what I want.” “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
She is busy all the time. Not at peace. Striving. Carrying the weight of the world. In control. Holds herself and those around her to an unattainable standard.
She must be healed of her trauma, understand her younger self so that she can connect with her daughter.
She slows down and discovers who she really is, what she really wants.
There is a connection between Grace’s injury, Pilgrim’s injuries, and Annie’s marriage. Feeling unwanted, useless, broken, hopeless.
There’s something in Tom that brings other people (and horses) to life. How?
Tom knows who he is, where he belongs, and what he has to offer.
Creates boundaries, shows a different way to live.
Doesn’t turn to others for what he needs, but sees how he can help
Can manage if life falls apart
Images of four responses to pain/trauma
Tom: Goes home, discovers who he is
Pilgrim: Lashes out, angry, uncontrollable, beyond help
Grace: Feels broken, worthless
Annie: Bottles trauma, driven to be successful on the outside
Resources
“When the brain is resting from its onslaught of daily tasks, it’s making room for something else.” The Nature Fix by Florence Williams
“We had pierced the veneer of outside things. We had “suffered, starved, and triumphed, groveled down yet grasped at glory, grown bigger in the bigness of the whole.” We had seen God in his splendors, heard the text that Nature renders. We had reached the naked soul of men.” - Ernest Shackleton
“But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (NIV) “A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God.” (MSG) - 1 Timothy 6:6
“We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” - The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis
“But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith, my patience, my love, and my endurance. You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra—but the Lord rescued me from all of it. Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” - 2 Timothy 3:10-12 (NLT)
Questions
What does it mean to pierce the veneer?
What is the “something else” we need to make room for?
How has trauma transformed you? Was it a positive or negative transformation?
What would it be like to rest from the onslaught of daily tasks?
If you made room for your life to speak, what would it say?
Have you discovered who you are, where you belong, and what you have to offer? If not, how can you? If you have, describe yourself in those categories.
What would it look like to fall?
Where does your pain invite you to go?
What from the past year do you need to grieve? What has been lost?
More info
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Edited and mixed by Grayson Foster
Logo and episode templates by Ian Johnston
Audio quotes performed by Britt Mooney, Paul McDonald, and Tim Willard, taken from Epic (written by John Eldredge) and Song of Albion (written by Stephen Lawhead).
Southerly Change performed by Zane Dickinson, used under license from Shutterstock.
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