Animated

 In Featured, Pastor Paul's Blog

By Pastor Paul Gauche

Today’s Word: Animated as in… Mickey, Pinocchio, Woody, and a mysterious girl name Lisa all have this in common: they are all animated.

Mickey came to life on November 18, 1928, and was introduced to the world as “Steamboat Willie” and never escaped puberty. To this very day, his voice is still as high-pitched as it was when he was a kid.

Pinocchio was born on February 23, 1940. Pinocchio’s dad was a woodcarver named Geppetto, and they lived together in a modest cottage in Tuscany.

Woody was born in Emeryville, California, in 1995 to the Pixar Family and had a thing for Western themes. So, he asked everyone to call him “Sheriff Woody Pride,” which everyone shortened to “Woody.”

Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo is best remembered by the name given to her famous portrait created by an artist named Leonardo from the little Italian village of Vinci. “Mona Lisa” comes from the Italian word  mona, a contraction of the phrase ma donna, or “my lady.”

What’s fascinating about Mickey, Woody, Pinocchio, and Lisa is that they’re all animated, brought to life by someone else. Mickey was animated by Ub Iwerks and a guy named Walt who had a thing for theme parks. Woody was animated by Bud Luckey. Pinocchio was animated by Carlo Lorenzini Collodi, a children’s book author. In early 1542, Lisa Gherardini’s husband hired Leonardo to paint her portrait. Lisa’s smile is what brought her to life and apparently launched a thousand ships. And it’s her smile that continues to animate that timeless painting.

So, who animates you? Who brings you to life? The artists brought these characters to life; they gave them shape, form, and function. Joy, wonder, beauty, grace, and even some mystery in a smile have given countless others a sense of the profound power of animation.

Life coming to life – that’s what the Spirit does: brings life to our lives. The extent to which we acknowledge that the Spirit brings us shape, form, and function is the extent to which we’ll continue to bring joy, wonder, beauty, grace, and some mystery to others.

#100days50words

Paul Gauche is the Pastor of Life Transitions at Prince of Peace. His posts are part of his #100days50words project, where he blogs about a different word each week. You can follow his project on Instagram (@pgauche) or his blog, Thriving Rhythms.

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