the real Elsa and Anna

Let it go.
Why does that song resonate so deeply with me? I find myself almost crying as I watch Elsa walk up that snowy hill and design her dream castle of ice, all the while singing about her new found freedom. I imagine how it would feel to really be Elsa. Not the beautiful princess that every little girl wants to be. But a girl who lived in constant fear that you are going to hurt someone you love. You would never want to or mean to hurt them. But you know you might, because you have so little control over your own condition. Imagine Fear screaming at you every minute of your life - "You are better off alone. You don't belong. You are a danger to others. You were poorly made. Your life is of little value. You are destined to be broken. You will never defeat this. Your situation is hopeless." I can only imagine the list of lies she would be bombarded with. And her parents advice only made it worse - "Conceal it. Don't feel it. Don't let it show." So she did what she thought was best. She cut her closest loved one out of her life. She believed the lies and acted accordingly.


As I watched Frozen yesterday for the 13th time, it hit me for the first time - one reason Frozen has been such a successful movie is because Elsa is such a relatable character. Many of us feel isolated, fearful and anxious as we live out our day to day life. Fear controls us and all our decisions. The idea of breaking free is so bright and beautiful but we don't know how to get there.
Finally Elsa escapes and we all know and love how she expresses her new found freedom. But she quickly realizes she's not really free because fear followed her.
As believers, we know that the way to get freed is to put our trust in Christ... once for our salvation, then daily afterwards for our freedom and peace. Disney makes no mention of our Redeemer and Deliver, but the end of the movie spells out what heals us - "an act of true love."
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)."


Elsa froze Anna's heart. She didn't deserve Anna's love, but that's the very reason Anna willingly gave it. Anna's act of true love turned everyone's lives around. She sacrificed her life for Elsa and that changed everything. The fjords melted, the flowers bloomed, the sun shone and Elsa's ice powers were changed from a curse into a blessing. Anna's act of true love is a picture of what Christ did for us. As is fitting for a children's movie, the heroine came back to life at the end. Christ gave His love and it cost Him His life. But He didn't stay dead either. He came back..


These are my very random deep thoughts about Frozen. It is a redemption story. God speaks through Hollywood whether they know it or not. I don't know if the writers of Frozen knew how beautifully their story points to the Savior of the world. But I'm thankful to have this movie show my little ones the power of sacrificial love as the only thing that can heal, repair, fix, redeem, save the broken, sometimes including ourselves. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear..." 1 John 4:18


At the end of the movie when the credits rolled, I heard another verse of "Let it Go" that I hadn't heard before... "I know I left a life behind but I'm too relieved to grieve. Let it go, let it go...."
Amen. May I never grieve the things I've left behind in pursuit of freedom and peace.