The Mill- Sifting Through the Stuff of Life.

“The acclaimed foriegn film “Three Seasons” is a series of vignettes about life in postwar Vietnam. One of the stories about Hai, a cyclist and Lan, a beautiful prostitute. Both have deep, unfulfilled desires. Hai is in love with Lan, but she is out of his price range. Lan lives in grinding poverty and longs to live in the beautiful world of the elegant hotes where she works, but never spends the night….. she is enslaved by her livestyle, but thinks it’s her means of escape. Then Hai enters a bicycle race and wins the top prize. With the money he brings Lan to the hotel. He pays for the night and pays her fee. Then, to everyone’s shock, he tells her he just wants to watch her fall asleep. Instead of using the power of his wealth to have sex with her, he spends it to purchase a place for her for one night in the normal world, to fulfill her desire to belong. Lan finds such deep grace troubling at first, thinking Hai has done this to control her. When it becomes apparent that he is using his power to serve rather than use her, it begins to transform her, making it impossible to return to a life of prostitution. Jesus who had all the power in the world, saw us enslaved by the very things we thought would free us and gave his life.” I pray that we all use what power we have to serve rather than use.