FINDING DORY

I have been wanting to watch this movie ever since a dear sister told me about it. She watched it on 21 June, the day of summer solistice. It's been nearly a month. She said she cannot begin to explain what "Finding Dory" said to her. Of family, childhood, dreams and following what spoke to her, so much of her journey encapsulated there that her heart is full and it will take awhile to unpack it.

I planned to watch this movie two weeks ago but haven't been able to. Yet for the past few days I kept feeling that I got to watch it because God has a message for me. I couldn't find the time to watch it previously but I felt I couldn't wait anymore. So I watched it yesterday. The plot was about the amnesiac character Dory suddenly remembering her childhood memories. Accompanied by Nemo and Marlin, she sets off on a personal journey to find her family. She ends up at the Monterey Marine Life Institute, where she meets a white Beluga whale named Bailey, a whale shark named Destiny and an Octopus names Hank.

I was anticipating God to speak to me about my lineage and generational calling, tracing my roots. I thought it would remind me of my own journey as well. But not quite. Instead towards the end of the show, I received the word from God. It was the scene when Dory cried out to the shark Destiny for help and Destiny knew Dory was in trouble.

She wanted to help Dory but she had poor eyesight and it would mean that she had to jump over the wall in the Marine Life Institute to get into the ocean to get to Dory. Her whale friend Bailey encouraged her and told her that he would be her eyes. But she was still hesitant about the walls. You see, she had been in this enclosure for the longest time and due to her poor eyesight, she always bumped into walls.

You can imagine how bruised she was all these years from all the bumps and how scared she was of the walls. But what Bailey said really struck me. She asked Bailey pensively: 'What about the walls?' He replied: 'But there are no walls in the ocean. This is it. Destiny, this is your destiny!' And so they mustered up their courage to jump over the wall that kept them from the ocean. Finally they are set free!

Right at that moment, I felt my Abba God telling me not to be afraid of those walls for there are no walls in the ocean. He knew I was bruised and so afraid of bumping into another wall again but this time I really had to do it. I got to cross this invisible wall holding me back from my ocean, where I can be set free. I might have poor vision but Jesus would be my eyes. Besides there is an urgency because it wasn't for my own freedom but to save others. Like how Destiny wouldn't find the courage if not for the sake of saving Dory.

Another scene where the fishes in the marine enclosure were being transported to another place also spoke to me. These fishes had lived a life of captivity and never knew how the ocean was like. There was this octopus called Hank who would rather stay in the enclosure than to go into the ocean. He came from the ocean but had bad memories there so he never wanted to go back again.

Dory was trying to convince him that it was far better to be out in the ocean than to stay in the enclosure. But it was telling him to step out of his comfort zone and it could be scary. Yet what Dory said stirred up the courage for him to take that step. The rest of the fishes also got encouraged and they all shouted 'Release! Release! Release!' Another thing that struck me was this. The octopus Hank always told Dory that was the only way out, there are no other ways. But Dory always believed there was another way. And true enough, she had eyes to see the other hidden ways.

I found myself shouting the same thing. God wanted me to be released from this bondage and captivity. Enough is enough. I don't want to stay in the enclosure anymore. I don't want to bump my head on the walls and get myself bruised. This is it. I got to cooperate with God to jump over this wall once and for all. I want to be released from captivity! This is my destiny. It is time.