"Precious"

So, last night we rejoined Netflix and picked out the movie Precious, which was recommended due to our interest in Juno, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Slumdog Millionaire. Should we lighten up a little, or what? :)

I've actually always enjoyed movies that make me feel, that make me cry or nearly cry. I go months and months, and at times, even a year without crying, so I think that watching movies that are filled to the brim with intense emotions is somehow therapeutic for me.

The film Precious is very well-made and the acting is phenomenal. The content is more than disturbing, but it was worth it (to me), to experience the discomfort. Precious is the story of a pregnant teenage girl in Harlem who grows up in an abusive home and her experiences in life and in an alternative school.

It actually hit really close to home with some of the situations that I saw as a NICU and pediatric nurse, and especially now in the work I do with the Crisis Pregnancy Outreach. As a new graduate RN, working in the NICU, I remember preparing for a C-section of a 12 year old girl who had been raped by her father. Ugh.

And later on as a Pediatric nurse, I handed a starved (I believe she was a 19 pound almost 5 year old) little girl to the social workers after our suspicions of abuse and neglect had been confirmed.

Oh, and the little boy that had cigarette burns all over his scrotum and how he didn't even know how to be held. And how his sister had been thrown against the wall too hard.

I think that it is so easy to live in my little bubble, you know, and to forget about the hurting all around me. I really appreciated the film Precious and it overwhelmed me in a good way...I feel overwhelmed with compassion and feel more and more that I want to spend my life making a difference, and getting out of my comfortable, loving little bubble that I so often find myself in.

And it makes me realize how absolutely head over heels I am with adoption too. A generous and loving family can make all of the difference in the world and can break so many cycles of abuse, addiction, poverty, etc. Sometimes I can fall into a mentality that Domestic adoptions are not really as significant as International ones, you know real orphans...but seeing Precious refreshed my perspective and I am really okay with whatever way God chooses to bring children into our family. And right now, I am especially enjoying seeing other families add to their homes through adoption :) It's such a thrill to my heart. And if you are reading this and ever have a question about adoption or CPO, or anything like that feel free to contact me. My email address is communicatewithkate@gmail.com.

I really want to believe that the girl's experiences (in the film) are exaggerated and very rare, but I know that is not true at all. Injustices and abuse are happening not only in Thailand, Vietnam, and the Congo, but they are happening probably less than a mile from my home. Watching Precious makes me want to always have a room in our home that we have available for a girl or a family in need. I think that would be a great thing to accomplish in 2011.

Love,
Kate