The English Game
I know this isn't a book or recipe and is only mildly connected to exercise in a topical sort've way (watching the history of football aka soccer counts, right? 😁), but I just had to share about one of the best things we've watched while in quarantine: The English Game. As a loving and kind wife who was trying to serve her sweet husband by picking a show that would particularly interest his soccer loving heart, I randomly selected this masterpiece . . . never realizing how self-serving it would be as it quickly became one of my favorite mini-series events ever.
Why is this such a good film? While trying my absolute best not to be the worst spoiler of all time, this series encapsulates all of my favorite movie themes: sports competition, radical forgiveness, broken marriages and redemption, sacrificial and joyful living, and some good classic make-you-think ethical dilemmas. Top all this off with the beautiful sets, directing and cinematography of the Downton Abbey team (and some of the most magnificently entertaining period-piece facial hair I've ever seen 😆) and it's too good to be true.
Unlike many movies today, this series captured my heart by actually depicting honest character growth and one of my favorite portrayals of really grappling with grief and how to face it fully without ignoring its reality or pushing it away, but also not allowing it to swallow you up. It is a rare and beautiful thing to see a true story of people who learn to let grief and hardship teach them how to love and serve and to feel deeply for others - and that is precisely what this movie does (hint/spoiler, this movie is not simply the story of soccer, but of sanctification and growth). To sum it up, the series embodies one of my favorite verses: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God" (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Instead of letting pain or suffering control their lives, the movie paints a picture of hope in how God can use such times by allowing His comfort to enable us to comfort those around us. It's a broken world that we live in with so much pain and hurt and sin, but, we are enabled to love, feel deeply for, and pour into others, even when we feel the brokenness most. It makes you ask yourself if that is how you view suffering. Do we see it as a chance to grow in our ability to comfort and love others?
I'm going to stop here so as not to ruin things, but for anyone thinking about how to channel loneliness, disappointment, or suffering into good and beautiful things, it's definitely worth a watch ❤ Also, it includes sports and British and Scottish accents, which certainly don't detract from the wonderfulness. Happy viewing!
P.S. I've chosen a whopper book, but a review is coming and....sneak preview, but, Strawberry Salsa Chicken Tacos....amazing.
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