I don't think anyone anticipated how crazy and hectic everything would get when filming "Sacred." We started out fast, worked hard and fast, and slid to a grinding halt. Maybe too fast. We sort of all fell down when the race was over and collapsed, exhausted and overwhelmed. But, wow. What a marathon.
As I look back at all of the days this blog seemingly appeared silent, all of the days I was too tired and it was too late to blog our experiences, my brain now is still a hazy mess of memories, moments, and mountains of footage. I do know, on June 19, we had our second incredible shoot at Kennedy Secondary School. I can't say enough how awesomely accommodating the staff have been. Our friend and liaison Jayna Johnson coordinated the use of all of our needed space, handled forms and communication between us and facility use staff, and cleared us for entry for all of our early days. What a job she had keeping us organized! Jayna, thank you!!
One specific moment stands out from that day, and became a very real reminder that God was and is actively participating in this project. We were scheduled to film a scene in one of the gymnasiums, but ran late the previous day and didn't get to it. By the time we hit the scene, the gyms were full and we had to reschedule for the next day, June 19. We had two actors that had to take their lunch off from work to come back and shoot the scene, and it looked like the gyms would be full again. We decided that this meant that we needed to reorganize our situation, rethink the scene, and shoot outside on the Kennedy track. We headed out with all of our equipment, rewriting as we went. As the cameramen set up the shoot, and the actors rehearsed, one of the set moms and I prayed for the Lord to send the clouds away and to hold back the rain. As we prayed this, the wind picked up and the clouds rolled in even faster. The crew were set to shoot the scene, and the actors revitalized with our new plan, but the rain started to fall. I had to make an important call. I finally halted the setup and said, "Listen. For whatever reason, God wants us on the move... and we need to listen. Now."
Gosh, I had no idea what we'd do. I had actors and cameramen with expensive equipment hurrying up the hill behind me to the closest school doors, out of the rain that poured out of the sky only five minutes later. We wandered the halls, trying to come up with a plan while the minutes ticked away. We needed to get those actors through the scene and out the door, back to work. We first checked the gyms again. Full. We checked the weight room, prepared to rewrite again. Full and loud. And yet, our hero...a friendly Kennedy staff member, Paul Ratz, listened to our situation and volunteered to find a place for us. I was doubtful. I knew the gyms were full. But, as he led us back to the gym closest to our "escape" doors, closest to the soggy track, the Spirit started to shift my perspective. Here was a gym, he said, usable.
But there are kids in it.
And then the Holy Spirit said, "Yes."
Oh. I thought. That's it.
And then our perspectives changed again. Here was a scene intended for a gym, not a single word out of order, not a single rewrite needed...surrounded by kids, and exactly where it needed to be. I don't want to give much away, but it was a very significant, interesting perspective, and I thanked the Lord for giving us a new vision!
Here's the funny part of this story. The following week, we decided to re shoot the scene because of some inconsistencies. We had the gym completely to ourselves, no rewrites involved, and exactly how it was scripted from the start.
I'm beginning to learn that it's not so much about the destination, but the road He gives us to get there. Sometimes it doesn't make sense at all. Not at all. But, He doesn't ask that we make sense of it...only to trust that it makes sense to Him.
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