Finding Dory

I was visiting my sister over the week and last night we were watching the movie, Finding Dory. I'm sure everyone reading this has seen this movie. It's the Disney move that hits me straight in the feels the hardest, I think. (Maybe, I cry at a lot of Disney movies anymore.) See, Dory is special. And this movie is all about her history. It draws you a story of a little fish, that despite all obstacles in front of her, will do what she sets out to do despite the obstacles in front of her. Dory doesn't let the fact that things are hard stop her.

But. That's not what makes this movie so special. At least to me. And don't get me wrong, its part of it. (I don't think a special needs parent can watch this movie without feeling the power of it.) But here is the thing, Dory is on a quest to find out who she is and where she came from. She finally remembered her parents and she is desperate to find them. The people that love her the most in the world.

As Dory finds herself, and remembers her childhood and where she came from, she ends up all alone again and she starts to panic. Just like she did when she was younger. Just like she did when she got lost. She starts to feel like its to much. But this time, she pulls herself together and starts looking around. She starts to really see the ocean, and the plants, and the shells in front of her. And she realizes that these shells form a path just like her parents use to make for her when she was little. A path they laid out so she could find her way home. She follows this path, and she finds what she is looking for. She finds her parents. They aren't mad even though she has been lost for years, they are just completely overjoyed that she did it! She overcame ever obstacle in front of her and she found her way home.

But see, her parents didn't give up on her either. While Dory was working to find her way back to them. Her parents stayed in one place. And everyday, her parents laid out a little more of a shell path.

I pretty much lose it every time I see this part of the movie. Dory's parents never gave up hope in the strength of the daughter. But they also made a way for her to find a way back home.

And isn't that what our Heavenly Father does for us?  He waits for us in the same spot we left Him. He doesn't leave us where we can't find Him. He puts out "shells" to help us find our way back to Him if we get lost. Whether that be sending a person, a prayer from someone that we don't even know is praying, a nudging in our heart, a coworker sharing something, a sign on the side of the road, or even something as silly as a little Disney movie. He is right there, with open arms. He isn't mad if we lose our way. He just loves us, in all of our mess, through everything we've been through or fought through. He just wants us home with Him.  I can never look at this shell path, and not see the unconditional love that our Heavenly Father has for us.