Up will make your marriage better

We all see movies we like from time to time, and occasionally we like one enough to recommend it to friends. I love movies, so I am careful not to recommend them to people because I would do it all the time. Today I am making an exception. I am imploring all married men to take their wives to see Up. It's supposed to be a kid's movie, but the message is about marriage, keeping promises, and noticing the normally unnoticed blessings of God that are all around you.

Please note that when I say it's animated but more for adults, I'm not comparing it to movies like Shrek or Aladdin which are kid's movies where some jokes are thrown in that only adults will get. I'm saying this is a story for married people, and there are some things in there that make it digestible for kids, too.

That said, when it got to the turning point, the place in the movie which emphasized the blessing that this man's wife had been to him, I looked over and Jacob (my 7-yr-old) was welling up with tears. So he got it. Not as good as he would get it if he were a married adult, but he got it. That said, I came out of the theater wishing I had seen it with Beth. Our anniversary is this Friday, and I'm hoping she will be up for seeing it that night rather than waiting for the DVD.

If you feel weird going to a kids movie without any kids, don't worry about it. Before we had kids, Beth and I went to Toy Story and Aladdin, and a couple of others. It was no big deal. Go at night if you don't want to be surrounded by other people's kids.

By the way, some of you never go to the movies anymore. I understand that. We are the same. We average one movie a year at the theater. Even if you fall into this category, I recommend you make an exception here. I would be surprised if you come out of it without a changed (for the better) outlook on marriage, and a renewed intentional focus on making your marriage an adventure.

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