The Lord works in mysterious and wonderful ways. One of those mysterious and wonderful ways through which He works is our children. The Bible is full of examples. Enoch, famous for being the only patriarch in Genesis 5 who does not suffer death, “walked with God after he fathered Methuselah.” (Genesis 5:22, emphasis supplied) Isaac’s impact on Abraham’s life is legendary. And, the list could go on and on.
I think that is why I ended up liking the movie Despicable Me. It has some crude humor, uses words a few times that our family does not use, and includes some other mildly objectionable content. Dreamworks is no Pixar. (For a more detailed review, click here.)
But, overall, I liked the movie because of the character change that occurs in the main character Gru. Gru is an aspiring supervillian who encounters three little girls who change his life. He sums it up poignantly in a little book he writes for the girls at the end of the movie. It reads:
“One big unicorn, strong and free, thought he was happy as he could be. Then three little kittens came around and turned his whole life upside down. They made him laugh, they made him cry. He never should have said goodbye. And now he knows he can never part from those three little kittens that changed his heart.”
Gru’s little book is particularly powerful for me. You see, once I was also a “Despicable Me.” I, like Gru, thought that I was “strong and free,” and being a big-firm lawyer with lots of money would make me “happy as [I] could be.” I was a Christ-hating atheist who had it all figured out. I did not want kids until Law School was out.
But for some reason unfathomable to this “Despicable Me,” God, in His goodness, blessed me with a family. First He sent a beautiful young woman who captured my heart, and I promised her that only death could we part.
But still I thought a rich and powerful lawyer I must be. Children would only hinder that as anyone could see. No, thought I, “kittens” during Law School would never do, but God in His mercy gave me two.
Then, before too much longer, “three little kittens” were running around, and, oh my, how they are still turning my life upside down. They make me laugh, and they make me cry. My love for them will never die. And only death could make me part from those three little kittens that changed my heart.
The moral of my pathetic attempt at poetry should be plain to see; God often uses kittens to change “Despicable Mes.”
The names of my three little kittens are Sierra Hope, Alexis Danielle, and Victoria Faith. The oldest kitten turns twelve this week. Her verse that goes with her name is Jeremiah 29:11, which says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Thank you to my three sweet little kittens, and thank you to my Lord, my God, and my King, Jesus Christ, Who truly did give me and my family a future and a hope.
P.S. Walking out of the theater, I told the family that I was like Gru, and God had given me three little kittens that He had used to change my heart. One of the girls quipped back that He had also now given me three little puppies. She was, of course, referring to her brothers. And, she is right. God has mightily used the three little puppies as well. Their names are Elijah, Samuel, and Abraham, and I thank them, and the Lord for them, as well.
I would also be remiss if I did not thank my lovely bride, who, to mix metaphors, is the “fruitful vine” that has produced the kittens and the puppies. (Psalm 128) The vast scope of the changes God has wrought in my heart through my precious wife will only be known in heaven. Thus, I also thank her, and the Lord for giving her to me.