March 12 - Mary Poppins

(submitted by Bert-the chimney sweep)

I recently re-watched Mary Poppins several times over and was struck by something totally new. The first 100 times that I watched and danced (because who can sit still when the penguins are dancing with Dick VanDyke?) I saw the film as a story of how Mary Poppins blew in from the sky and brought laughter, playfulness and a bag full of mysteries to the children (did you know that the one who played Michael died at age 21 from pancreatitis), and colorful songs like "A spoonful of sugar", "Stay Awake" and "Supercalifragilisticexpialodocious."

But when I watched it the other day twice, I had new eyes in which to see the true story. The story this time was about Mr. George W. Banks, Jane and Michael's dad!

You see him walk into the first scene, precisely when he should, singing the lines "A British bank is run with precision. A British home requires nothing less! Tradition, discipline, and rules must be the tools. Without them - disorder! Chaos! Moral disintegration! In short, we have a ghastly mess!"

You see him always in control of what he wants to be in control of, that is, until Mary Poppins arrives. Then, a transformation occurred. In order to process this a bit, let's skip forward to the end of the film.

Mr. George W. Banks, when facing the reality of losing his job because of his unruly children (meaning: you are a bad dad), for the first time in his life does not know what to say, so he blurts out a Mary Poppins word, tells a joke and then skips home singing (off-key mind you), "A spoonful of sugar."

Is this the same man? What happened?

Ezekiel 37 says "The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "

Here's how I see the life-entering process of one George W. Banks:
1. I don't need to change. My way of thinking is best.
2. It's ok for my family to change, as long as they keep me happy (without headaches)
3. The minute the change begins to affect how we spend our money or time, I will attack the one or the thing that has caused the change and try to take back control.
4. When I fail to regain control, I can choose to either become more embittered or embrace the breath of life that has been hounding me.
5. It's ok to not always be in control. I can trust that which has been stirring in me.
6. Flying kites may be more important than toppins.

What's your story of transformation? What are the steps that God used to breathe life into you? Was your process similar to George? Were are you today? Maybe the winds changed years ago but now you are seemingly walking face-first into the headwinds again. Embrace with me, the Spirit of God. We can trust Him.