Lessons from Lorelai & Rory

Once we got Netflix this  fall, a friend immediately suggested I should watch a show called Gilmore Girls.  I hadn't heard of this show before.  It began on TV in about 2000 and ran for 7 seasons.  It is a story of Lorelai, an independent, single mother and her brilliant, Ivy League-determined daughter, Rory, as they navigate the social world of their small town, the mine-field laden extended family, romantic relationships and the world in general as they both grew up.  From my friend's description I figured I would likely enjoy it.

Likely is hardly the right word.  With Netlix, there are no commercials, so the hour long show on TV is whittled down to about 40 minutes.  This shortened length makes it easier to "binge watch" several episodes in a sitting.  Consequently I devoured this little critically acclaimed show that I had never head of before. 

I finished the final episode last night.  My dear friend who suggested it didn't take into account the fact that I just sent my only daughter off into the world.  The finally episode was essentially a send of for Rory as she graduated from Yale and headed into the "real" world.  Heart breaking for this mom.  It certainly made my heart ache for my own girl.  And yet, for all of the twists and turns Rory and her mom, Lorelai, face as she nears that precipice of adulthood I was overwhelmed with the peace that came from knowing MY daughter had the gospel of Jesus Christ to guide her in her decisions, she has the Holy Ghost to guide her, and she had a desire to do what God wants her to do.  Her life will never be as uncertain as Rory's...and her choices will be significantly more moral than most of Rory's or Lorelai's.

Still, entertainment isn't always a morality tale.  But we can learn from fictitious story lines.  We can extrapolate actual truths from the virtual choices facing the characters. And we can see consequences of choices made in a back believe situation that might give example without having to make the same choices ourselves.

I crammed 7 seasons of this show into about 3 months of TV watching, without having to watch network or cable  or satellite TV.  While I enjoyed the characters I was introduced to in this show, I am grateful I have a better actual set of co-stars and secondary characters in my life.  My choices may not make much of a screen play, but I recognize the joy I find from doing what is right.  I have seen struggles offer many lessons and the outcome of strength and peace that comes from bearing the struggles.

But that doesn't keep me from thinking I live in a western Stars Hollow at some times too.