A Story That Followed Me Home

There I was, almost 3 years old, watching a movie in theaters. I sat there, and probably moved around a lot, experiencing the movie. At the end, I got up and asked my parents if we could rewind the movie so I could take it home.

Of course, I couldn’t take it home with me that day, but it is one that I would repeatedly watch until it became a foundational story for me. Three decades later, it is a movie that still challenges me to be a better man.

That movie is Disney’s Hercules.

A Place Where I Belong

If you have never seen Disney’s version of Hercules, you must understand that it is quite different from the Greek story. In this story, Hercules is the child of Zeus and Hera. He is deeply loved by his parents, but Hades has his minions steal him and attempt to kill him. Hercules survives but is now mortal, so he cannot return to Mt. Olympus.

Instead, he grows up with foster parents on Earth, clueless as to where his great strength comes from and who he truly is.

One day, while helping his father in town, he accidentally destroys the marketplace. He is called a freak and told to stay away from normal people. His dad tries to comfort him, but Hercules knows that something is off.

He just doesn’t belong.

He then sings a song that has always struck me, “Go the Distance,” where he talks about looking for a place where the crowds will cheer when they see his face, and a voice keeps saying this is where he’s meant to be.

As a kid, I understood Hercules not feeling like he belonged. People would say I had the soul of an old man. I was so intentional and driven. Sometimes that was good, but as I have shown in my other letters, sometimes that was bad.

This doesn’t make me special, since it is a feeling that many of us can relate to. As an aside, I think that feeling can be healthy because it points us to something greater than this world.

Hercules acknowledges this desire with the image of a crowd cheering for him and finally being where he belongs. That image always made me picture heaven. That was the place where the saints and angels would cheer my arrival, and I would be with the One who loved and created me.

Hercules, however, is a bit more attached to the world. He truly means crowds of people cheering for him. He has a great desire, but it isn’t properly directed yet.

Meeting His Father

Hercules finally arrives at Zeus’ temple to learn the truth. To his surprise, Zeus animates the statue and explains all that has happened to him.

Hercules asks why Zeus didn’t want him. Zeus says that he wanted Hercules and loved him with all his heart, but Hercules was mortal. Only immortal gods can live on Mt. Olympus.

As kids, we all want to be special. I wanted to be Hercules, learning that I had a special lineage.

I would regularly pray the Our Father, and it slowly sank in that the God of the entire universe asks me to call Him Father. He is a loving Father who wants to bring me to heaven. Unlike Zeus, He sends His Son to teach, suffer, and die for my sake.

The fantasy of the movie was captivating, but the reality that I lived in was even better.

The Mission

As the scene progresses, Hercules wishes there was something that could be done, to which Zeus tells him that he can restore his godhood by becoming a true hero. Hercules then sets out to become a true hero, worthy of becoming a god.

It felt like a great triumph to finally have the mission. Hercules was on his way to becoming a hero and rejoining his father.

I was reminded of my own mission, which my child self was unaware of, and my goal of becoming a saint. I too would have a chance to join my loving Father in heaven, but I had to stay true to the mission.

Hercules is just getting started on his mission to learn what a true hero is, but that will have to wait for Part 2.

Hercules, like any movie or story, has its flaws. If understood a certain way, it can convey bad lessons. This is a risk inherent to a fallen world. However, I am convinced that God can use our flawed stories to bring about good lessons.

Weekly Challenge

Think about a story that has stayed with you since childhood. Maybe it was a movie, a book, or even a story someone told you.

What did it teach you about the world? What desires did it awaken in you? And looking back now, can you see something good that God may have taught you through it?

Stories do not have to be perfect to point us toward the truth. This week, take some time to revisit one of the stories that formed you. Look at it with older eyes and ask what lessons were worth carrying with you—and which ones needed to be left behind.

Forge Ahead

Anvil: the place of formation.
Arrow: the mission we’re sent on.

The world needs more men formed in virtue. Forward this to a brother who’s ready to grow.