The Blind Side

Jeff and I went to see The Blind Side yesterday. It is the first Sandra Bullock movie I have ever really enjoyed, and walked away from feeling happy, rather than frustrated.Based on true events, The Blind Side tells the story of Michael Oher, aka Big Mike, a homeless (black) teenager who is offered a couch to sleep on one night by the (Christian, white, and Rich with a capital R) Tuohy family, and gradually finds a place in their home and hearts - and they in his - before finding his place in the world of American football as well.

I like this movie because it shows how the Christian ethic of "loving your neighbour" on a person-to-person level does as much good for the "helper" as for those "helped". It is a very different situation to that of mass-market financial giving for a cause or a crisis, because while this giving is important and even vital in the lives of the recipients of the help, they have a minimal influence on the life of the person who offers the help. In The Blind Side, we see that helping someone directly can lead to a new understanding of love in the life of the loving helper, as well as in the life of the beloved who is helped.

My favourite quote, Mr Sean Tuohy to his wife, Leigh Anne:
"Who ever knew we'd have a black son before we'd know a Democrat?"

Who have you helped lately?