why i love moana

To celebrate the gorgeous turn of weather we went hiking at Snow Mountain Ranch, taking the aptly named "Wildflower Trail."  Arrowleaf balsam root was prevalent everywhere, big head clover (gorgeous!) and many others that I haven't been able to identify yet.  We hiked in awhile and then sat in the quiet on a blanket on a grassy hillside to eat sandwiches and sketch wildflowers.  The meadowlarks provided the music and the breeze kept it from being too warm as it rippled the grass in waves.  
The Moana soundtrack blasted as we drove through the breathtaking countryside on the way home and we all laughed at the humor in so many of the songs- such great songs and music!  I cried (as always) through "Know Who You Are."  (Spoilers below, read at your own risk) See if you can imagine why:

I have crossed the horizon to find you
I know your name
They have stolen the heart from inside you
But this does not define you
This is not who you are

I know who you are

The music brings my favorite scene of the movie vividly to mind with each listen.  Moana, alone, crossing the dry seabed toward the terrifying, consuming, destroying, desperate lava monster, singing these words, now laying a hand and forehead on the hardened crust of cooled lava and seeing who she really is. Replacing the heart that belongs to this broken creature and then!  The explosion of life and growth and beauty and restoration that happens with her healing!

It makes me grieve and rejoice because I see myself in Te Ka.  Ravaged and raging and destructive and hungry... but Christ sings these words to me like Moana sings to the hidden Te Fiti.  I doubt this redemptive analogy was at all intentional but the truth and beauty of the gospel can often be found hiding in the most beautiful of stories.  

 "I know who you are."