Adjustment Bureau

I just really love this picture of her.

A Reflection Paper I did on the movie Adjustment Bureau for Humalit class :)

--

Matthew 24:45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?”

There is time for everything. This is the first thing that came into my head after watching the movie. I personally really loved the movie because of its genius analogy with God. I admire how the story was able to relate it to Him and explain His concept of right timing in a more interesting way through the perspective of romantic love between a man and a woman.

More often than not, people tend to focus on the present-- present desires or pleasures. They usually involve themselves in situations without reflecting on its long term effects. We are too stubborn and impatient that we yearn for instant gratifications without wanting to go through pain and suffering. We tend to choose the easy way out with things that we refuse to see the wisdom behind all these "unfortunate things" that happen to us. In the case of David Norris, he focused too much on being with Elise that he was blinded by the possibility that being with her will be a distraction for his career, which in turn may affect her dancing as well. He was then wise enough to understand and accept this "decree" that he chose to let her go-- for their own sakes. After 11 months though, after being able experience the best of his career, he finds himself still yearning for her. He then takes extra measures and great efforts just to get her back. His tenacity was able to revise "the plan" and his love for her evoked hidden emotions among the people part of the Bureau.

In the same way, God allows things for these things to happen because He knows what's best for us. Chairman, which can be similar to God in the real life context, is the author of our stories. And just like all storybooks, bad things are bound to happen because if it’s not for these things, our life won’t be as interesting and we won’t have any lessons to learn from. It’s all about right timing. Personally, I am in faith with this promise. I believe that the right man is just out there and is willing to wait for me until I get to mold myself and become the right woman for him by establishing a strong foundation and relationship with God. Sometimes I would myself having an urge to get into a relationship with someone and gratify my present pleasures but with stronger faith and enough blessings, I am able to control myself. I realized that having a boyfriend now would just distract me from performing at my best at school and serving God. I believe that I have a lot of time of that after college and whoever who is willing to wait and pursue me is someone who’s deserving of my love. On the other hand, we sometimes also need to climb the mountains and soar the skies for what or who we love. As we start to understand that everything’s about perfect timing, we have to continually seek God and lead our hearts to Him so as to know when the right time is. Although once it comes, we have to be ready to fight for it. It’s a test whether or not we really want something because more often than not, we are infatuated with things not because they’re right for us but because it’s easy for us. Things that are right for us require perseverance and sacrifice. It’s also during these times that the prize is sweeter because we know for a fact how much we’ve gone through. Just as a diamond can’t be polished without friction, we won’t be able to experience life at its fullest and how God designed it to be if we refuse to acknowledge these unfortunate events as blessings. Meanwhile, we can’t also let other people dictate our lives just as the people “in the bureau” have tried did by setting this certain plan for David. By the end of the day, it’s our personal relationship with God that matters.