Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience – Ephesians 2:2
While many films begin with a pivotal, climactic scene normally reserved for the ending, such is not the case in Midwinter Break. If it were, readers would immediately learn of Stella’s stunning announcement—“Gerry, when we get home, I’d like to put the flat up for sale, and… and then I want to get a place of my own”—and Gerry’s subsequent mix of disbelief and expectation. Instead, we are introduced to a retired married couple embarking on a trip to Amsterdam. However, despite the city’s scenic allure, it cannot prevent the inevitable detonation of a simmering bomb fueled by lies, guilt, secrets, and denials.
What is ignored will always demand attention. And what one chooses not to mention will remain silent for only so long, until, when least expected, it is revealed that what is hidden is never truly gone. This was my takeaway from Midwinter Break, highlighted by Stella’s revelation of her husband Gerry’s drinking—which he had sought to conceal—as well as Stella’s escalating frustrations with Gerry’s unwillingness to embrace her religious beliefs. It prompted me to remember the cautionary reminder in Luke 8:17: “For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.”
Just as a horse is untamed before it is acquired, so were we before accepting Jesus, who purchased us through the atonement for our sins. Therefore, we can turn to Him to provide whatever we need to walk continually tamed.