I was impacted recently by the life story of an actress from the 40s and 50s. I absolutely stumbled across the movie/docu and I’m ever so glad I did! I both learned new things and was reminded of other equally vital truths.

First off, she was literally stunning. I am a woman, and I couldn’t get past that face! Perfect symmetry in every direction. I mean, I started wondering what ever happened to women having such classic looks. Why don’t we see nowadays such natural beauties as we saw in the past? Now, people are going to drastic lengths with plastic surgery to attempt to look “naturally” beautiful. Lamarr for sure didn’t need to go under the knife. Not once. And yet she was a knockout in every sense of the word.

The powerful thing about her is that, despite the fact that I’ve devoted an entire paragraph to lauding her looks, she was soooo much more than that. The reality is that she would spend most of her life trying to highlight this truth: the parts of her that weren’t obvious (or on the surface) were the most important. Doesn’t that ring true even for you? It does for me, and I think for most people. She suffered greatly for the fact that the average person couldn’t get past what s/he saw of her. While her looks opened doors for her, it appears they never opened the doors that were most meaningful to her existence. Made me think of the Scripture: “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain. But a woman who fears the Lord, she is to be praised.” A simple way of understanding the above verse is this: Beauty does not last, neither does charm. Everything fades away. But your relationship/connection with Jesus is what will sustain you forever. That’s the gist of the matter.

Lamarr’s looks and the opportunities they brought her never gained her love. The lasting and true kind. They certainly didn’t bring her peace. In fact, the way her life ended just made me feel so sober. #mood. I was down after I watched it because hers just seemed a wasted life. Seemed like she was a bright star that never got to actually shine as was intended. As she was created to. Even today, many lives are wasted because the people living them are focusing on what externals they have: business savvy, people skills, talents, education, and what-have-you. Yet, deep inside, every single human being yearns for love and peace. I’m not talking of fleeting happiness. I mean that everyone hopes to enjoy a sense of well-being, a deep peace that comes from a security base of love. A foundation of love. The lasting kind of love. Of course, no human being is able to provide the kind of love we’re each looking for. Why? Let me try to illustrate it this way. We’re all deep wells, hoping to be filled. As a result, there’s no way I can find the fullness of love I need from, say, my husband, on a consistent basis. He too is a well that needs to be filled. This dearth forces us to look beyond ourselves. Only God can be all that and more for each soul.

I wonder if Hedy ever connected with Him. I mean, He made her for Himself. He loved her passionately.  A part of me hopes that before the beautiful Hedy Lamarr left this planet, she made peace with the God of love. Only in such a scenario will she have finally found all she ever had looked for in this life.

She was brilliant, blunt, and very flawed. In short, a real human being. I think I would’ve really liked to have met her. Maybe to have had a few conversations with her. For now, I’m left with reading about her life and watching a movie/docu that I now recommend to you.

If in any way you’re like me, you’ll realize that there’s wisdom all around us, but especially in the lives (and mistakes!) of people who once lived.

Learn your lessons well. I’m trying to. 🙂

©2018, WriTEswAY