When the movie The Vow hit theaters recently, I could not wait to go and see it. In fact, my girlfriends and I somehow managed to get a large group together to go see the film, including our husbands! There were 14 couples in all!
I could not imagine experiencing something so tragic! The two main characters are married for 5 years when a car accident wipes the memory of the wife, Paige, played by Rachel McAdams. The husband, Leo, played by Channing Tatum, then tries desperately to convince her of their love. I thought that the movie would resolve the love between the characters a bit more, but the last image at the end does help with closure; revealing a photograph of the real couple who inspired the film, along with their two children.
After the movie, all 14 of us stood in the lobby of the theaters, discussing what we would do if we had encountered a similar situation. Even after we had all dispersed for the day, my husband and I continued the conversation. My husband affirmed his love for me, assuring me that if anything like that ever happened, he would do everything he could to keep me as his wife! 🙂
A few days after watching The Vow, I stumbled across an interview of the couple who inspired the movie, Kim and Krickett Carpenter. As I viewed the clip I heard a few things stand out to me that added an even deeper meaning to the whole story!
Krickett mentions, “The Lord is the great physician.” Indeed He is! She trusted the Lord to reconcile their relationship and He did! She never regained her memory leading up to the accident, but she did fall back in love with husband Kim, and the two even remarried.
When Kim is asked, “Why didn’t you give up?” he responded,
“We live in a society where vows are constantly broken… and forty years ago ’til death do us part’ was the death of a soul mate and today its the death of a marriage that society has accepted.”
When Kim said those words my heart sank! It is so true! The vows that people are committing to are being weakened and disregarded, and our society is accepting that. I believe that is a dangerous place to be.
Kim also added, “With faith you do the right thing.” I loved that he and his wife are sharing their faith, and how their faith brought them back together, making their relationship stronger than ever.
Krickett said, “I chose to love Kim out of obedience to God. You need to stay committed… you have trials in your life and you have to keep persevering.”
These are powerful words to live by in marriage. I pray that more and more faithful couples would set an example for our society and the generations being raised up. People need to see how a marriage can withstand hardships when God is in the center!
Although the film did not reveal a Christian theme, I was thrilled to find out the truth that inspired the movie! I hope that the interest in The Vow gets directed to Kim and Krickett’s real life love story and how God brought them through it!
Foxnews.com posted an article which included this excerpt:
“In my opinion, God is a huge part of ‘The Vow,’ albeit metaphorically,” said Shawn McEvoy, the managing editor of the Christian website Crosswalk.com. “The love with which Leo pursues Paige, even after she no longer really remembers or even wants him, is the tireless love with which God pursues His people.”
What would you do if your spouse suffered an injury that took away any memory of you?
To see the interview of Kim and Krickett click HERE!
This interview of the truth behind The Vow added to the quality of the film for me. I must note that movies like this can stir up emotions and even expectations of what a relationship should be, and as wives we need to be careful that we do not become ungrateful for our own love stories! (Movies that portray very romantic ideas, including dates and romantic gestures) We need to make sure that we hold our marriages in high esteem, without comparing the qualities, especially of a Hollywood made film. I have a horrible pattern of seeing movies like this, comparing my marriage, and then projecting negative attitudes onto my husband due to his seemingly lack of romance abilities, making him feel inadequate. Every love story is unique and personal. The best thing to do, if inspired by a film, is to gently communicate things to your husband that you would be interested in, and both of you can incorporate those things over time. I am learning how to do this.
(Also side note: Although I enjoyed this movie, please be cautious for there is a bit of nudity, in one scene exposing Channing’s rear end.)
