Sid the Sloth

Feb 19, 2013 by Jim and Jerolyn Bogear

Jerolyn and I were sitting on an airplane headed home from somewhere and a movie came on the screen. Like so many animated movies, once I chose to pay attention, I once again learned a few lessons from animated characters about us real-life characters.

In the movie Ice Age, Sid the Sloth is awkward, backward, coward, and about any other word ending in “…ward” you can think of that is not flattering.

BUT, that is partially what makes him so adorable. If you have ever watched the movie, you know kids and big people stop laughing at him, and start cheering for him.

He may be a goof ball, have difficulty fitting in, and seem like he can’t do anything right to help out and be valued. In fact he is told more than once that he isn’t much help at all and is a screw up.

Sounds like many of us, doesn’t it? There are only a few of us that appear to have it all together, but even a glimpse into most of these lives causes us to realize differently — none of us have it all together all the time. Let’s face it; we all have some issues.

We all have idiosyncrasies…how many of us remember those middle school years of dramatic change? Talk about awkward!

True to form in the movies, late in the game, Sid comes through and delivers for the team… Sid to the rescue! That is when one of the characters says, “You know, Sid, you are not such a screw up. You’re a hero.” Sid replies with, “Someone once told me, ‘You never leave a friend behind.’”

• Family and friends, in what ways are you helping others believe in themselves?
• Parents, how are you helping your children know they are valued?
• Husbands and wives, how are you affirming your spouse?
• In what ways can we show others love, care, and appreciation?

We all have issues and/or idiosyncrasies. What do we need others to overlook to love us anyway? What about us with others? We have often said we are quick to receive grace, but much slower to extend grace to others. We all need to receive a little grace, and more importantly extend it to others.

Sid the Sloth can teach us a lot about more than just saving the day…as family or friends we can save the relationship by loving each other and even putting up with a little bit of weirdness in all of us.

~Jim