I love watching the Oscars. I don't usually have the opportunity to sit and watch it all at once. But, tonight I'm enjoying just such a luxury, complete with a mug of chocolate ice cream hand-dipped and served by my loving husband. Anyway, the crazy things people will do on live television always intrigues me, maybe that's the draw for everyone else. But it always astounds me how the people involved (the actors, the techs, the directors, and so on) all make it sound like they're curing cancer or something when they talk about their work.
I mean, really, it's just movies. Movies. Don't get me wrong, I love movies. I love the way that watching an incredible story unfold on a screen transports me into a virtual world. I laugh. I cry. I flinch and cringe and hide my eyes between my fingers, breathlessly trying to avoid scary dreams later in the evening. I ask a million annoying questions (just ask my dearest friends who tolerate watching movies with me).
But seriously, it does drive me a little bit crazy how seriously some people take themselves. Have you ever seen a more self-congratulatory demographic? They invented an"awards season" just to keep on congratulating one another and, I can only assume, to try and add some level of deeper meaning to what they're doing. I'm happy to advocate for The Arts and I know that our Creator designed us to appreciate beauty in all of our senses. But.... when I think about the amount of money spent on evening wear, jewels, accessories, stylist consultations, etc. Uff dah. Staggering just to think about it. I wonder how much good could be done with even just a small portion of that money if it were put to better use.
People suffering from curable diseases and conditions would be relieved. Hungry men, women, and children would be fed many, many meals. Women and teenage girls would be rescued from the real-life horror story of the sex-trade. Babies would survive pregnancies. Children would grow up in families.
I love watching movies and I love the hoopla of the Oscars, really, I do. I love the fashion and the fun. But I wish there would be more recognition of those individuals and organizations that actually make a difference in the quality of life lived by actual people.
Cure International is one. Bethesda Mission is another. Look at Change Purse and Capital Area Pregnancy Centers for more inspiration. The people who love and serve in these missions deserve a season of recognition, not because of their work, but because of the One they so lovingly serve. Someday, lordwilling, I will get the chance to use my time as a SAHM to serve alongside the folks changing real people's stories.
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