Twister

Perhaps life is meant to be a mess?

The 1996 movie Twister has gotten such negative reviews over the years, but I don't care what the critics say. I actually really enjoy this film despite some continuity errors (there's a whole list of them at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117998/goofs), and around this time of year when spring thunderstorms start appearing throughout the Midwest, I usually go back and watch it again. Call me crazy.

In the film, we meet Bill Harding (Bill Paxton) trying to emerge from his messy life with his ex-wife Jo Harding (Helen Hunt) by solidifying the divorce and marrying a more organized career woman.

Bill is trying to rid his life of the messiness that comes with a life of chasing after tornadoes, driving through cornfields, always eating on the go, and sleeping in vans or cheap motels, not to mention a marriage to a wife who lives life on the edge. He craves some stability, clean clothes, and an organized life. He sounds like many of us, and as a perfectionist, he sounds like me.

Twister reminds us that mess is okay from time to time.

In fact, messiness is probably what life is all about. In his book, Messy Spirituality, author and pastor Mike Yaconelli tells his readers that God doesn't expect us to live perfect, sinless lives, and if we try to accomplish that, we might become more obsessed with trying to live that perfect life than trying to live a real life. When Christ said, "I came so that you might have life, and have it more abundantly," (John 10:10), he wanted us to live our lives to the fullest, not to become a sinless, lifeless, joyless person.

Bill wanted order and stability, but was truly unhappy trying to live a life that wasn't his. Often times, we forget to live a real life when we are trying too hard to live a perfect life, and we become unhappy too.

We are called to live a life of responsible happiness. And each spring, despite the critics and the naysayers, I sit back and watch Twister to remind me of that valuable lesson.