The Colors Within and Patient Discipleship
Quick to hear and slow to speak
Good morning, friends!
You’ve got me, Twwk, again this week in a special “5th Friday” edition of “Above Anime.” We’ll return to our usual devotions next week, but for today, I want to chat about something I’ve struggled to learn for the past many years and which was impressed upon me once again past weekend.
The Colors Within, a new anime film from Science Saru (Dandadan), is currently in theaters. It’s a coming-of-age tale about two young women who attend a Japanese Catholic school and a third boy who lives on a nearby island. It’s a rare anime that is not only respectful of Christian faith but purposely emphasizes the character of God within the story.
As someone far closer to middle age than youth, maybe it’s no surprise that I related more to an adult in the story than one of the three teenage characters. Sister Hiyoshiko watches over the girls as they go through growing pains, and though her skills of observation are apparent right from early in the story, she doesn’t rush to help the girls in every instance where they might have need; she instead waits on them and, I also believe, on God’s timing.
That patience is something I struggle with in relationships. I discipled college students for about a decade, and you couldn’t keep my gums from flapping as I had something to say, seemingly, about every single thing they had going on in their lives. But how much of what I said was true wisdom? And was I being a good listener by always responding?
Hiyoshiko provides answers when asked and they are thoughtful words involving God, prayer, and hymns. She doesn’t impress herself upon the girls, preferring to respond when they approach her. However, even those few words she gives are met with trepidation, and you can see in her face that the sister wonders if she’s overstepped some invisible boundary. Later, Hiyoshiko connects with the girls through music, and the pair—who have created a band with the islander boy—finally take her words to heart.
In wanting to do good, some of us may overstep our bounds. That may mean saying something that’s ultimately hurtful, but it doesn’t even have to go that far; sometimes it’s speaking at all when the person confiding in us needs us to listen. The Bible, of course, is full of teachings about patience, including in the book of James when the brother of Jesus says that everyone should “be quick to hear” and “slow to speak” (James 1:19). And unlike Hiyoshiko, we might even provide bad advice, especially if it isn’t said out of humility and the spirit of prayer, and if we just don’t quite have the wisdom yet to be doling it out.
But God is always working. He’ll provide the opportunities and the words to speak; sometimes, we just need to be patient, wait upon him, and not let our rush to help cover becomes a landslide of words that bury the ones that are truly needed.
BtT in Review
Mike tackles heart motivations and You’re Under Arrest in this week’s The Power of God and Anime podcast. Here’s sample:
We encourage you to listen to the full episode and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, including on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and other platforms.
Mike’s Anime Trivia question this week is, “What is the name of the boy that Tenma Tsukamoto has a crush on in School Rumble?” Let us know your answer on Twitter or Instagram!
Are you a binge-watcher? Or are you a little too—here comes the dreaded word—old to binge anime like you used to? If the latter, you might get what Luke means in our video short this week:
On this week’s Reader’s Corner, Laura and Twwk review a host of romance manga, among other works, including an introductory manga for Gabriel and the Guardians!
On Fanart Friday last week, we posted a rather unexpected image of Hatsune Miku and Goku as bride and groom in the context of Fortnite, and illustrations of Fate’s Saber and her Knights of the Round Table.
Have a wonderful weekend, friends, and God bless!