About a Boy

about a boy

“A person’s life is like a TV show.  I’m the star of The Will Show, and the Will Show is not an ensemble drama.”  — Quote from Will, one of the main characters in About a Boy

This post is loosely related to the last one.  Have you ever seen the movie, About a Boy?  It is one of my favorites.  The story is about, well, a boy, named Marcus.  He is nerdy and “poor” and lives with his single mom in a suburban environment in England.  He finds himself wishing for friends, and through an unlikely connection, he meets and becomes friends with an adult man, Will, who is single and lives by the philosophy that all men are islands.  By the end of the movie, both Will and Marcus both discover that life is better when lived in community.  As Marcus comments, “Couples need back-up.”

I am thinking a lot about what living in community means.  The fact is, with 4 kids in a city with no family, community is very important to us.  We count on the help of others every week to make our lives work.  That being said, it isn’t easy to do this.  Sometimes it feels like we are needy–like we are the only ones who have to make that phone call to ask someone to pick up one of the kids because we can’t get across town in time.  I would like to feel more like we can live in community where there is give and take, where people feel comfortable calling me to ask for help more often.  Sometimes I think people don’t call us because we are known to be busy, but I also want to be known to be generous and accommodating and helpful when it is within my power to do so.

I started this post on Saturday of last weekend, and interestingly, our pastor preached a sermon on Sunday about the community of believers in the Book of Acts.  My husband also preached a sermon where he talked about community.  Hmmm . . . coincidence?  I don’t think so.  I think we all long for more relational lives of meaningful interaction with others. But in our society, it is difficult to bring about.

In About a Boy, Marcus sensed what he wanted/needed, and he started to pursue it until his life looked more like what he longed for.  Real life, unfortunately, is not as neatly constructed as movies or over in a couple short hours.  So we have to work at things for the long haul.  Now I am challenged as to how best to pursue community in my own life without turning others off in the process.

6 thoughts on “About a Boy”

  1. Brandy,
    We have owned the dvd since it first came out. Now, of course, the movie is on netflix. We have shown it to the 3 older kids, and the liked it, too. I just think it provides a lot of stuff to think about.

  2. We haven’t seen it yet — it’s on that never-ending list of movies to watch! Still, I really appreciate your thoughts in this post and the prior related one.

  3. I appreciate your thoughts on community. We, too, live far away from family. We, too, want to have that give and take that comes with entwining your life with the lives of others. But we seem to be in the opposite place from where you are. We are often the ones who are called upon when others are in need, and we gladly (most of the time, let’s be honest here) serve. I’m not sure why the Lord planned it this way, perhaps to teach us to rely solely on Him, but most of the time when we have a need, no one is available to help. So, we continue to, as you put it, “work at things for the long haul.” We continue to be available for others, to attemp to invest in the lives of others, as we are able, and continue to trust that the Lord will meet our needs faithfully, as He always has. Sometimes it’s just a little more lonely than we want it to be.

    I have seen and enjoyed that movie, although it has been long enough that I don’t remember it well. I have been wanting to watch it with our kids. Perhaps that will be the movie we watch this weekend. Thanks for the recommendation.

  4. LOVE this movie…Jay and I have seen it several times, and we rarely watch movies more than once. I look forward to enjoying it someday with our kiddos and talking through some of the content together.

  5. Diane,
    I just saw your comment tonight waiting to be “approved.” I guess my blogging activity isn’t very regular still!

    I appreciate your comment. I wish I knew the answer to both sides of the exchange. Mostly though, I resonate with your last thought, “Sometimes it’s just a little more lonely than we want it to be.”

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