miyagi moments

One of my favorite movie scenes comes from that iconic blockbuster from my childhood, The Karate Kid. Young Daniel has been bullied incessantly since arriving as the new kid in town, but when the kindly maintenance man from his apartment complex, Mr. Miyagi, comes to his rescue in very dramatic fashion during one such fight, Daniel thinks he's found his savior -- someone who can teach him karate, so that he can fight his own fights from now on. Mr. Miyagi agrees to teach him, but on one condition -- no questions.

The "training" that ensues involves washing cars, painting fences and houses, sanding floors, and any number of odd chores. Time and again Daniel shows up for "karate lessons," and ends up spending his days as Miyagi's slave labor. Finally frustrated and broken down, physically exhausted and sore and unable to move, Daniel has had enough. He tells Mr. Miyagi exactly what he thinks of him, his "training," and his promise to teach him karate. In disgust, Daniel starts to walk away.

But then the moment comes...

With a terse shout, Mr. Miyagi summons Daniel to return and demonstrate the "chores" he's learned. Daniel flippantly waves his arms around in the seemingly pointless gestures, but Mr. Miyagi grabs his hands and begins to show him what he's truly learned... and then launches a sudden barrage of kicks, punches, twists and jabs, all of which Daniel is able to successfully block for the first time in his life.

With a subtle "hmph," Mr. Miyagi then bows. "Come back tomorrow," he says, and then goes into the house, leaving a speechless Daniel to absorb all that he didn't know he'd been learning all this while. By the end of the film, Mr. Miyagi's unconventional teaching methods have transformed Daniel into a conquering hero.

God uses these "Miyagi moments" in my life so many times -- such is my life today, in fact -- and I'm sure that if you were to look back through yours, you'd see them there, too. The times we asked for help and thought He didn't answer, and so we get angry and feel let down -- but when the attack comes, we find we can survive and defend it with a strength we didn't know He'd been developing in us all along. And slowly we come to appreciate and even admire God's unconventional teaching methods.

Like James wrote, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."

Mr. Miyagi couldn't have said it better.