Rest: Pixar- "Cars"
The 4th of July was hot this year. It was also a Monday and all of us were home. We decided that we would spend part of the morning watching a Disney Movie, we chose a Pixar, Route 66 Classic- “Cars”. If our family were to rate the “Cars” movies we would the 1st and 3rd are tied for first place. But there is always something about the original, the first, that has a special place in our hearts.
“Cars” brings personality to the mode of transportation many of us use on a regular basis. We see that our human temptations are not limited to those with skin and bones but to these cute, animated vehicles. Mike and I always joke because I sometimes take these movies seriously and I usually ask deep philosophical questions about the story lines and the characters. Mike will give me the normal look… “Ali, it’s an animated movie.” But, to me, they deserve a back story. I appreciate this about “Cars.” The movies give us glimpses of each character’s life and why they are the way they are.
As we were watching this movie on the fourth. I was surprised to see rest in this movie, and it was the kind I was familiar with but also the one I welcome the least. It is the unexpected rest, the rest that catches me off guard, the rest you would never wish on someone. It feels aggressive yet necessary. It feels more like an interruption and less like a blessing. Lightening McQueen finds himself in this rest, which he would not call rest, more like a detour. Anyway, most of the movie is about McQueen wrestling with what he could be missing because of this unexpected detour. It is not until McQueen, stops to listen to those around him that he begins to understand this moment. It is not until he lets his guard down that he experiences healing, revelation, and growth.
In September, our entire family had COVID. It ended up being the greatest blessing, but its timing was horrible. I was in fulltime ministry, we were in launch season, and I could not do anything but sit, rest, and wait it out. I remember feeling so helpless. I remember getting perspective on the fact that the world will keep going without me, I remember hating that realization but eventually coming to love it.
All of us were sick. All of us were tired. And each night, we would all snuggle up together and watch a family movie night. 3 nights in I looked at Mike and the girls, At the time the girls were 7 and 9, and I thought to myself: “God, I may not want this to end. They are growing so fast. Life is happening so fast. God, thank you for this moment that we get to all be together. Thank you for this pause.” The timing felt significant. The space was meaningful. Our reality shifted and it needed to. Looking back on those 10-days now, all I can think is… God you knew the rest of the year. You knew. Those 10-days felt like preparation for the rest of the year. They felt like the invitation to something more.
McQueen had a similar experience in Radiator Springs. The ghost town on Route 66 used to be a hub of beautiful sights and sounds. Although those sites and sounds were still there the hurriedness of life made it what it was when McQueen entered their story. The towns story (and the townies story) and McQueen’s story all collided at the perfect moment. McQueen needed permission for something different (his was more of a court-sentence, but you get the gist) and the town needed something to bring them out of the good old days and into the new.
Rest does all these things. When we fight it, ignore it, run from it, we miss it. When we embrace it, go towards it, and look at it… we receive it. May we be a people that courageously accept the gift of rest, the hope within rest, and the joy that comes from rest.
