So last night, in my PJs, alone with a frozen pizza and a Coke Zero, I had my own little girl's night and watched "Confessions of a Shopaholic".
Ever seen it? :) It's a really cute movie (based off a fiction novel) starring Isla Fisher (love her!) about an incurable shopaholic (16k+ in store credit card debt!) who somehow ends up writing a financial column in a big money magazine in New York. It's the typical, but always crowd-pleasing, plotline of "secret opposites" (you know the type of stories - the "never been kissed" romance author, or the divorced marriage counselor, etc.) Always lead to great conflict! And are usually hilarious.
Fabulous movie.
Anyway, I bring that up, because there was something the heroine said that stuck with me. She was asked why she shopped, and she panicked, unsure what to say, unsure how to put her problem into words. She'd been justifying and making excuses for so long, she wasn't sure how to proceeds.
Then the person asking (someone she cared about) demanded she just tell the truth. Right then. No thinking, no plotting, no excusing. Just honesty.
So she blurts out the truth for the first time. And she tearfully says "I shop because when I do, the world is okay. But then it's not. So I have to do it again."
Wow. Let that sink in.
What an analogy for the sin in our life.
I'm not even going to drive this point home further, because there's no need. Just marinate there ok?
I love that movie (and read the whole book series) because I AM her. I am an emotional shopper, and I have the credit card debt to prove it. :(
ReplyDeleteHowever, the Dave Ramsey program several years snapped me out of the cycle, but I still want to shop when I'm sad, worried, or even bored. But, through God, I have gotten better.....and my debt has gotten smaller.
Shopaholic is one of my favorite movies. Along with the books! I love Sophie Kimsellas plots and voice. I wish she was cleaner though.
ReplyDeleteI remember that line, it such an example of the contentment we all crave and why we do things we feel guilty about after or know aren't right anyways. Because in that moment we have sense of peace that we have no other time.
So funny you brought the opposites up, I had the thought of a relationship columnist who's never been on a date but I don't know what to do with it, ugh. :( its in the back of my mind though because its just a little funny. Like what if she was exposed? Or she's a secret columnist and her life is really dull.
Huh. I've never seen that movie. It sounds cute, though. I can definitely relate to the "secret opposite" part -well... Kind of. It's no secret that I've never been on a real date, but I'm always the person people ask about relationship advice. Lol. I can also relate to doing things just to make everything seem okay. I always feel like I have to have some sort of project or "cause" to throw myself into so my struggles can fade into the background.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you're back, Betsy! :)