Devotional Two: Anna, the Hopeless Romantic

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

 –I Corinthians 13:7 

ANNA:  Love is the one thing  That has zero complications 

And I can trust my gut... 

Some people know their hearts  The minute true love starts. 

–Frozen 

While appearing to be the hopeless romantic, Anna is more than simply falling for the first handsome young man to come along. Anna is reeling from the death of her parents and the isolation she has experienced from her sister, Elsa. Anna is asking more of her sister when she asks Elsa to build a snowman. Anna is seeking community with Elsa, and the musical shows Anna not simply acting out of naivete when she falls for Hans. The romantic connection with Hans is magnified because Anna has been searching for community with others for a long time. 

From Pinocchio to Cinderella to Moana, many Disney protagonists are seeking to follow their hearts as if the heart is the most reliable compass to finding truth. Anna is no different. The Bible has much to say about trusting one’s heart to find one’s true self. In Jeremiah, the prophet speaks to the unreliable nature of one’s heart: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;who can know it?” (17:9, NKJV). While one might scoff at Anna’s childish infatuation with Hans, there is more to the story. Anna is trusting her heart, but her heart is deceiving her. Anna is unable to see Hans for who he truly is, and Anna’s heart blinds her to the red flags. Yes, Hans is a liar, but Anna wants to find true love so badly that she ignores the advice of her sister and others who care about her. Where might our hearts be deceiving us? In what ways are we shaking our heads at Anna, only to act like her in another situation? 

Love is more than just a romantic feeling. While we all remember the strum of the heart strings when we met that special someone, hopefully, our relationship moves beyond infatuation to an ever more maturing love. Humans are designed not to be mere consumers of love, but we are wired to be a conduit for love to others. Throughout the New Testament, the Apostle Paul encourages believers to bear one another’s burdens. In Romans 12:15, Paul instructs us to be the conduit for God’s love: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (NKJV). Christians are commanded to think of others more highly than themselves by allowing God’s love to flow through us to others.