I Dare You

There is something almost irresistible about a dare. Deep down, each of us stands ready to rise to the challenge. We want and sometimes even need to show that we are more than ready, that we do indeed have what it takes to pass the test.

Last weekend my wife and I had an evening planned together. A friend of ours was scheduled to exhibit a number of his paintings in an uptown gallery as part of an art crawl. I enjoyed meeting several artists and hearing about their work and learning how their life is different than mine. To be honest I felt a little out of place looking at artwork that cost as much as my truck, but Sunnie was enjoying herself and she was laughing a lot. The lights meant to illuminate the works of art highlighted a sparkle in her eyes that every diamond in the world must envy. We enjoyed being together.

Afterwards we went to see the movie Fireproof (www.fireproofthemovie.com/). I had not heard much about it, but we had planned an evening together and that's what she wanted to do. So we bought our tickets and a bag of M&Ms & found our seats. After 3 hours and 14 minutes of introductions and previews, the movie started.

Without re-telling the story (you should see it yourself) let me say we are invited into the lives of a successful young firefighter and his wife. He's very good at his work, but not very good in this relationship. His father "dares" him to make it work.

I would recommend the movie Fireproof to every adult I know - but let me tell you this: Don't expect to be entertained. Yes I laughed. Yes I cried (yes, I got misty-eyed too, but at one point near the end actually had tears on my face, which is not a common occurrence for me. And I was thinking, they BETTER NOT end this movie right now when I'm sitting here with tears on my face. But they proved themselves trustworthy and allowed me a few minutes to get it together before the lights came up). Parts of the movie are very entertaining, but it's not entertainment. This is something more. This is something better.

Don't make up your mind during the first five minutes - I started out hoping this wasn't a dud. But during the course of the movie I came to care about the characters and what happened to them. At times, it hurt to watch. Not because of what was happening on screen, but because I knew that hundreds and thousands of people who will be watching this movie had experienced some form of it in their own living rooms.

My wife and I have been married 18 years. Our relationship is strong and healthy and we are very thankful to be together. The most common year for divorces is the seventh year. After seven years, a couple has worked through some problems that many others were divorced over. So my wife and I have worked through some problems. It is painful at the time and it is painful to remember. (I remember one late night discussion, I impulsively told her: "You know what your problem is? You married a man! That's your problem!" Fortunately we both started laughing and that was the end of that.)

In my thinking, this movie represents the highest and best that movie-making can be: it builds you up. It offers hope. It creates the desire to aspire. Most importantly, it points the way to permanent solutions to all the challenges we face. The Bible says that love builds up, it makes stonger. So much of what passes for entertainment does nothing of the sort.

So go see it. I dare you.