Last night I finally got round to watching Sandra Bullock in Blindside. Awesome subject, awesome film and awesome acting. A whole two hours plus, of one of the sweetest subjects I have encountered in a long time and though the film was in its own way glamourising it, the fact remains that its based on a true story. Leanne Tuohy really exists and so does Micheal Oher.
That a privileged white christian woman should give a bed for one night to a beliguered young black man, is unusual, but to take him into her home, into her heart and to call him her son….and in so doing, change the direction of his entire life…wow….she has my admiration.
I know I could take in a new born baby, a young child and love he or she like thye were my own. I am pretty certain I could do that, but a boy in his late teens, who I didnt know and whose history was questionable…I dont know whether I could go that far…to be fair I would also not have the backing of my family and I know I am not nearly as balsy enough as to exert my will that far.
The trust and faith and love which must exist in this womans heart is mind boggling. This morning my girls woke up having to deal with a issue of fraud and over and over I heard my younger daughter repeat “How can people do that?” well I just kept thinking….wow…this woman actually did that!
For those of you who might not have seen the film, the sum of it is that Michael Oher, a black American teenager is one of many children born to a crack addict mother and does not know who his father is, is taken into care by the state and loses all contact with his mother and siblings.
He has no steady homelife and though the film doesnt actually go into details of his years of growing up, you pretty much get the idea that it must have been bad by any standards.
Fate takes him into a Christian school where the football coach tempted by Michaels ball skills, persuades his fellow teachers to give him a place. The teachers realise that though Michael’s written work is poor, he is actually not as dumb as he appears. At the same time Leanne Tuohy meets him and soon realising he has no where to go, she offers him a bed for the night. That one night turns into many and with the support of her whole family she and her husband eventually become Michaels legal guardians, she refers to Michael as her son….and they take him to their hearts as if he truly was their own, changing the path of his life.
Meanwhile his ball skills earn him a sponsorship into college football, and he is currently a lineman with the Baltimore Ravens. In the process of satisfying the sponsorship requirements, he raised his academic average and graduated from school with a 2.75 average….I have no idea what that means but I gather it was good.
If one person in this world can play a role in changing the life of just one other human being, so they can achieve their true potential then imagine what would happen if each and everyone of us did that. What a different world we would live in. Sadly, those characteristics needed to do would Leanne Tuohy did, exist in a very small percentage of the world. It takes a whole lot of love do what she did, and it has nothing to do with being a good Christian and more I suspect, to do with good old fashioned compassion and humanity. It is an inspiritional story and with all the bad news that flys about nowadays, its refreshing to know that all news isn’t bad…some of it can tug at heart strings, and make you aware….. what it can mean… to have the kind of spirit which permits you to display a truly God Like quality.
Thankyou for reading
Shehnaz
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