What's With the Title of this Blog?

I have been meaning, for a while, to explain why this blog is called "Spirited Away" and was recently reminded via a facebook comment from a reader. Although some of you may already have an idea, I would like to tell you why I chose the blog name, which my gracious husband found a bit odd but simply went with. (He's probably used to doing this by now.)

The name "Spirited Away" is two-fold in meaning for me. First of all, I love the name because it points to what Isaiah & I want God to do through us and with us. We want to be "Spirited Away" by Him, to be sent to wherever he wants us via the calling of the Holy Spirit. We desire so much for God to place us where he wants, almost as if by flight, and to dwell in this place until/if He calls us somewhere else. The disciples were "spirited away" when Jesus called them out of their regular lives. They followed Jesus throughout his life, and when he died, the Spirit came to guide them. And boy did it guide them! It led the disciples & apostles to the ends of the earth, and that's amazing! This kind of Holy Spirit, the one that often calls us to extreme things & provides us with supernatural love & ability, is the one that we want to guide us as we approach missions.

The other reason I chose this blog name has to do with Isaiah & I's call to Japan. "Spirited Away," the Hayao Miyazaki film, was my first experience with anything remotely Japanese. Afterwards, I fell in love with various other cultural aspects of Japan (J-Pop, sushi, anime, and respect for elders in particular). But the film was what made me fall in love with Japan first. Since then, I have fallen in love with the people that this film, in a lot of ways, represents. I saw tons of spiritual parallels in the movie. This both thrilled me and unnerved me when I first watched it Sophomore year of high school. I remember seeing the film and thinking about all that the film meant to me which I couldn't even verbally express. Now, as a 25 year old, who feels drawn to Japan increasingly day after day, I can finally explain why I love it so.

In the movie, a young girl's parents are turned into pigs, and she must figure out how to save them so that all three of them can exit the spirit world they've fallen into and return to the human world. She works at a bathhouse for the lady who turned her parents, so she can figure out the key to fixing them. She meets tons of spirits as she works.

I saw the gospel on display in the movie in a lot of ways. I like that Chihiro (the young girl) enters an alternate world and moves from child to adult as she discovers the spiritual realm & becomes an active participant in redemption (she helps redeem her parents. Haku, & many others). This very much feels like how it's been to approach God & missions in general. When I began entering into the spiritual realm (seeing Jesus for He really is, understanding the spiritual battle going on, listening to the Spirit, etc.), I began to spiritually grow more & more. And the more I learned about the spiritual realm and the greatness of the God I serve, the more I was able to help redeem the world around me.

The other things I love about the movie have a lot to do with why Japan needs missionaries in general, and hence, partly, why I want to go to Japan so badly. The film serves as a commentary on Japanese society in certain ways. The bathhouse that Chihiro works for is supposed to be a place of ritual purity; however, it has become a place of greed, corruption, darkness, and ambiguity. Our world was supposed to be a pure and wondrous creation, but sin tainted it. Part of the way in which Japan has been corrupted has a lot to do with a greed. Fathers & mothers often spend very little time with their families due to their extreme dedication to work & making money. They believe the lie that their family is happiest when they are making money. They think they are providing for their families properly, but they are leaving a wake of emotionally abandoned children who have little idea of how to connect relationally to the world around them. Since Japan is a culture in transition which still places a lot of identity in family & heritage, these children have no idea of who they are or what their purpose is. Sounds like children who need knowledge of their Heavenly father and parents who needs the same.

In the story, since the parents are turned into pigs, Chihiro must struggle to develop emotionally & spiritually in the absence of her parents. As mentioned above, so many Japanese families struggle with this. Absent or Workaholic Parents producing Children who Struggle to Know their own Names--to understand who they are. Children who have to figure out identity alone.

The key to releasing Chihiro's parents, herself, and her friend Haku ends up being remembering their true names, who they really are. No-face, the bad spirit in the film, is the ultimate example of what happens when you remain without identity or place for too long. He has no face, no identity; he swallows others whole because he is so incredibly hungry for something he can't even express.

I see the struggle within the film to remember who people are, to recall their true names, to be two-fold. (1) This applies to Japanese culture, as mentioned before, because parents forget who they are while absorbed in work & technology; hence, children can't find out who they are either and wonder aimlessly & full of wounds.

(2) This applies to the gospel because we have, as a human race, forgotten who we truly are when we don't know who our maker and Heavenly Father is. We feel that we are useless, stupid, worthless, degraded, and dirty when we don't know & accept God because we have believed satan's lies. We have forgotten Eden. We have forgotten that we are heirs to Christ, His wondrous Creation. We need to know and then remember whose we are and thus who we are. It is only by accepting Jesus into our hearts that can we remember all of this & our true identity & purpose.

Japan has one of the highest suicide rates for many reasons, but a huge one is sons and daughters not knowing who they are or that they contribute anything. I so desperately want to help these sons & daughters of God know & understand that no matter what their earthly family dynamic, God wants them, is proud of them, and sees a huge reason for their existence.

Please pray that Isaiah & I would be able to go to Japan soon after the Boardwalk.

Pray that we will be "spirited away" to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Pray that we would be able to meet these sons & daughters of the Most High who have forgotten whose they are.

Pray that we can tell them of the Father who wants to lavish them with love so desperately.