Granted, it's not a place that was exactly on my bucket list. In fact, it wasn't even on my pail list. To me, my visions of Hollywood were probably akin to the biblical thoughts about Babel: a big city making a lot of confused noise.
Christine and I did a few of the tourist things: Santa Monica, Bubba Gump's, Griffith Observatory and, of course, the walk of the stars.
Of course we then pushed our way through the throngs of sidewalking tourists to Graumann's Chinese Theater which is home to the hand and footprints of some of the most famous celebrities of the last generations. Opened in 1927, Graumann's cement has the imprints of people like Joan Crawford in the 1920's to the most recent addition, Keanu Reeves, in May of this year. I was surprised at the big names, and my eyes became fixated, star focussed, just like the sidewalk across the street, on one name in particular:
Tom Hanks.
Over the last couple of decades, multiple people have said that I have somewhat of a passing resemblance to the multi-talented actor. I suppose if Tom Hanks was fifteen years younger, bald and goateed, we'd make reasonable doppelgangers. I don't know how Mr. Hanks would feel, but I took the comments of resemblance as a compliment. Who wouldn't want to look like a famous celebrity? (Unless, of course, that celebrity is Donald Duck whose 'prints' are included at Graumann's also).
When I found Tom's name, his hands and his feet, I followed suit with what I saw everyone else doing around me. It seemed natural to bend down and compare hand and shoe size. Noticing that our hands are very similar in size, I smiled up towards the camera hoping that I indeed looked like the great actor with palms and fingers nearly matching. Certainly, if we had the same measurement, perhaps I could walk in his footsteps. Maybe I could be the next great actor? Maybe I could be Hubba Bubba Gump?
When I pulled my hands from the great actor's prints, I realized that as amazing as Tom Hanks is, and as much as I 'idolize' his work, there is another set of prints to which I should be comparing mine.
Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded (having the same mind-print), having the same love, being one in the spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.
(Philippians 2:1-4)
Do you know who has that mind print?
As much as I know you want to say Forrest, Forrest Gump, and as much the world tells us that life is just a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get (so eat as many as you can), this mind-print of humility is the mind and heart of Jesus who pulls us out of our self-absorption and pushes us towards each other. We place our hands in the marks that he already left and we see the scars of his love, and then we know - following in Jesus' footprints is the most fulfilling step we can take.
That's all I got to say about that.
