I am Blanche Gunderson.

Summer's nearly over. In just a few days, all the concerns about the new school year will rush in, and I'll be consumed by it completely. For now, I find myself languishing in a lovely middle ground. I have rested from all the demands of last year, and since the new year is still several days away, I'm in a good place. I'm a tiny bit bored in a pleasant sort of way, which is what led me to re-watch an old romantic comedy I already saw years ago -- New in Town. 

I remember watching the movie when came out in 2009, but there's something about it I forgot. It slipped my mind that one of the characters in the movie is an uncomfortably exact reflection of me. Let's just say it isn't Renee Zellweger's character Lucy -- if only. As I saw the film again a few days ago, I was transported back to 2009. The first time I watched the movie I was transfixed -- not by the plot, the actors, or any kind of amazing special effects. On the whole the movie is just what it promises to be a well-executed, formulaic, romantic comedy. What got me was the character of Blanche Gunderson. She appears within the first five minutes of the movie and remains until the very end.

I'm telling you; she is me. I'm serious. If you know me, watch the movie. You'll laugh your face off. Blanche takes awkward photos of Lucy and pastes them into a homemade scrapbook. She gives away pudding she's made as a gift. She works the question, "Have you found Jesus?" into casual conversation. She asks people fifty times in a hour if they need anything. She wears Christmas sweaters!

So what's the big deal? (Other than the fact that it is indescribably hilarious.) One of the most difficult things in life is being able to see yourself as you really are, as other people see you. True self-awareness is hard. I think seeing this movie again and being reminded about how other people see me is a gift.

A while back I was chatting with my dad about some frustrations I have with a few of the people in my life, how it seems so clear to me what's going on with them, but it also seems so impossible to make them see what's going on with them. He wisely replied, "Well Bran, a lot of times we just don't see things about ourselves that others can see. Do we ever really know what we're like?" He was pointing out that I've got issues in my life that probably seem just as clear to other people as they are a mystery to me-- that it is just a part of being human. It was a good redirection, one that I needed.

I needed to be shown all over again that the only genuine way to love and help people is to be humble and honest about myself. Jesus himself said, "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (Matt. 7:3-4) Those are strong words. And just like everything else Jesus said, the entire world would be transformed if all of us could manage to take the spirit of them into our hearts and manage to really live them out. There's nothing wrong with trying to help others as long as I approach it with gentleness and the awareness that those same people need to help me too.

Seeing myself in Blanch Gunderson wasn't just a reminder of all that I lack either. She might be clueless, quirky, and bumbling, but I also think those are the very things that make her endearing. She seems to be the kind of person that would be good to know, the kind of companion you'd want in this life journey. I hope that's true of me in much the same way.  In short, that's my wish for you today: a movie character, another person, or some sort of other mirror to show you, even for just a second, all that's best and worst about yourself.