DPS

When I graduated from high school in 1990, I had the outlook that most seniors have when they graduate:  I was idealistic.  I was headed to college in the fall and I was most eager for independence.  I appreciated the education I received from a small, private high school, but I looked forward to wearing what I wanted, studying what I wanted, and exploring the bigger world.  It should be of no surprise, then, that Dead Poets Society was my favorite movie at the time.  I could relate the the uniformed school boys who were expected to be conservative in thought and action, but who desired to explore beyond their parents' rules and the rules of their boarding school.  I soaked in the words of Professor Keating, whose lessons in literature provided a gateway for them to intellectually grow.

When Apple released this commercial for the new iPad Air, I was struck not by the images, but by the audio.  It took me a while to recognize it.  I knew the voice, then the words came back to me, then the movie scene when it was spoken.  Apple used a key monologue from Dead Poets Society to promote the iPad Air and their vision of life as "poetry, beauty, romance and love".  When I saw and heard the commercial, I was taken back to that time when those were my aspirations, too.  Here's the ad:

If I compare my priorities as an 18 year old going to college to those of a 41 year old stay-at-home mom, I still see the "poetry, beauty, romance, and love" in my life.  The poetry is now that of the Psalms, meant for us to lift up and let out our hearts toward God.  I also know that "beauty is passing", but my goal is to be "a woman who fears the LORD, [for] she shall be praised." (Proverbs 31:30)  And, ah, the romance.  After 17 years of marriage to my college sweetheart, yet still "I am my beloved's, And my beloved is mine." (Song of Solomon 6:3)  I am completely blessed to love and be loved by a faithful man and four rambunctious sons, and to know the love of Jesus, for "We love Him because He first loved us." (1John 4:19)

So thank you, Apple, for taking me down memory lane.  You have reminded me that my life is this "powerful play", and by living it for Jesus I may "contribute a verse".