I Can Only Imagine Family Discussion Guide | Faith-Based Movie Reflection for Families

I Can Only Imagine:  Family Discussion and Reflection Guide

On Friday night, my husband and I saw the movie, I Can Only Imagine 2.  It was a good movie, but before I get into the details, let me offer some background information for those of you who are not familiar with MercyMe, Bart Millard, or the first movie, I Can Only Imagine.  

Bart Millard is the lead singer and songwriter for the Christian music band, MercyMe, which happens to be one of my favorite bands.  Bart lost his dad to cancer, inspiring him to write the legendary song, I Can Only Imagine.  Other artists have written songs after losing a loved one, but what makes Bart's song unique is the painful history he shared with his dad.  Bart's mother left him with his abusive father when he was very young, causing Bart to endure a childhood filled with challenges most of us can't begin to imagine.  His mother left him.  His dad abused him.  His dream of becoming a professional football player ended due to an injury.  He spent most of his young life craving his dad's kindness, which never came, until near the end of his dad's life, when he became a believer in the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  For a little while, Bart and his dad shared the father-son bond that God originally intended.  Then, Bart's dad passed away.  The song "I Can Only Imagine" is about imagining what Heaven will be like when we get there.  Bart knows that one day he will see his dad again, and they'll both share in the joy and peace that only Heaven offers for eternity, but the song isn't about that.  It's about worshiping God.  What will that be like?  I can only imagine.

Themes in I Can Only Imagine 2: Faith in Life’s Storms

Now, let's talk about I Can Only Imagine 2.  This sequel picks up where the last movie left off.  Bart's dad is gone.  He and his wife, Shannon, have a son, Sam, who was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes as a young child.  The diagnosis shatters Bart and Shannon.  The pain Sam experiences when Bart gives him the insulin shots takes Bart's mind back to memories of abuse he suffered at the hands of his own dad.  

I struggled with this comparison.  In my mind, the two types of pain suffered here are nowhere near similar, but to Bart Millard, who was living this nightmare, they were connected.  I'll admit that this part of the movie was a little slow, but it picked up, and when it did, oh man - the message in this movie was well delivered.  

I Can Only Imagine 2 is about how God is in the storms of life just as much as he is in the sunshine.  He is with us on our best days, but He is with us on our worst days, too, through all the hurt and all the grief.

If you are familiar with MercyMe, you also know their song "Even If."  I Can Only Imagine 2 is the story behind that song.  One of the hard truths of life is that some situations will never go away.  We can pray for healing, and sometimes God grants healing, but sometimes He doesn't.  We can pray for circumstances to change, and sometimes God orchestrates those beautiful changes we long for, but sometimes He doesn't.  I Can Only Imagine 2 is more about the times when God doesn't grant the healing, and He doesn't change the circumstances.  It's about those times when God leaves mountains unmovable.

During one of the MercyMe tours, a man named Tim Timmons was given the opportunity to open for the band.  Tim, though he kept his illness a secret for some time, had been working on the lyrics to the song "Even If" but was stuck in the process.  He, knowing about the strained relationship between Bart and his son, Sam, asked Bart to listen to the song and to finish it for him.  Bart wasn't enthusiastic about this task until Tim ended up in the hospital with the probability of death looming.  

I Can Only Imagine Family Discussion Guide | Christian Movie Reflection for Families

Holding Grief and Gratitude Together

Bart thought about his own past with his abusive dad, his relationship with his own son, and the challenges that came with watching Sam grow up suffering the challenges of Type 1 Diabetes. He thought about Tim, with his failing health, Tim's love for the story of Horatio Spafford's hymn "It Is Well With My Soul," and something Tim had told Bart.  Every morning, when Tim woke up, he would draw an X on his wrist.  The mark was a daily reminder to be grateful for another day.  Tim told Bart that both his life and the song he couldn't seem to finish were about finding a way to hold both grief and gratitude together.   

Thus, Bart was inspired to pen the rest of the song, Even If.

My Personal Testimony: Learning to Say ‘Even If’”

The song Even If was a favorite of mine long before I knew the story behind it.  The year Even If was released, I was suffering several health challenges.  I was older, and my body chemistry was changing.  I suffered multiple symptoms that I shrugged off as "just aging."  I was raised under the "if you aren't bleeding, you're OK" mentality that I had passed on to my own kids through my own parenting.  I don't like to whine, and I don't like to hear others whine, so my family always jokes about my favorite phrase when I hear a complaint - "Suck it up, buttercup."  Well, as it turns out, I sucked it up and kept going for so long that I had let a chronic disease, Crohn's Disease, pretty much take over my whole body.  The treatments were helping the symptoms, and I was improving until I suddenly presented more severe symptoms - muscle weakness until I couldn't even hold a cup of water without help.  Events spiraled - Crohn's Disease, kidney cancer, a fall that resulted in a broken rib, that resulted in an inability to breathe well, that resulted in pneumonia, that resulted in three weeks of back-to-back Floxin antibiotics along with my regular Crohn's treatments, left me helpless.  When I finally ended up in the office of an infectious disease specialist, I had 6 different viruses and drug-induced Lupus.  I was told recovery would take at least a year.  I had to stop working, and when I read accounts of others who had suffered the same thing, I realized that some of them never recovered.  A friend messaged me to tell me that she was praying for me and that she knew someone who ended up in a wheelchair for the rest of her life after suffering the same ailments as I was.  

My husband and I were at the threshold of youth and aging, with one foot still in the room of youth and the other stepping over the threshold into the next phase of life.  I felt cheated out of the last years of my youth.  Our kids were older, and in case no one ever told you, parenting teens and young adults is not for the faint of heart.  Just a few years before, I had rarely ever gotten sick.  Age wasn't bothering me; I felt as young and strong as ever - but then, there I was -  I felt old, tired, sick, and heartbroken over circumstances I won't get into here.  I prayed for all the things - strength, healing, relationships - all the things in life that bring sorrow and hurt - all the things that leave you learning to hold grief and gratitude together.

Then, I heard it - Even If.  The song became an instant favorite.  My heart felt every word.

"I know the sorrow and I know the hurt would all go away if you would just say the word, but even if you don't, my hope is you alone."

Back then, I was told recovery would take a year, but I had no way of knowing to what level I would recover.  For months, I couldn't twist off the cap of a bottle of water, but I could walk.  I didn't know which muscles would improve and which ones would not.  There were so many uncertainties, but even so, God taught me to say, "It is well with my soul."

I wrote a short devotional during this time:  When Chronic Illness Steals Your Joy

When Chronic Illness Steals Your Joy | Scripture-Based Devotional for Sufferers

I'm happy to report that even though I don't have all the strength and stamina I once had, I consider myself fully recovered and have a very good quality of life. Still, I learned during that time that I had to be OK even if I didn't fully recover, even if that relationship never healed, even if parenting that stage seemed impossible, even if I couldn't work, even if that mountain remained unmovable because God had already been so good during all of my days. His goodness was something I knew I could count on.

I Can Only Imagine and I Can Only Imagine 2 cover a lot of hard topics, but God meets us in the middle of them.  

If you are reading this and you don't have a relationship with the Lord, you can learn how to have a relationship with Him here.  Maybe you think you are too far away from God for Him to reach you.  You're not.  You can never be too far away for God to reach you.  Maybe you are a ruthless abuser.  God can save you, too.  Bart Millard once said of his dad:

My dad was a monster, and I realized if the gospel could change that dude, the gospel can change anybody.

The Family Discussion and Reflection Guide

In case I didn't make it clear enough, I highly recommend both of these movies.  I know many families will likely watch the films with their children, even though these movies are not recommended for children under 10, so I have written a Discussion and Reflection Guide for families to use before and after watching them.  It is geared more toward the first movie, but the principles apply to both movies.

Both films teach that God’s goodness is not dependent on our circumstances—He is present in both healing and hardship.

If your family watched I Can Only Imagine, this reflection guide will help you process the film’s themes of suffering, forgiveness, and unwavering faith together.  I hope you enjoy the films and that the discussion and reflection guide helps make the time you spend together joyful and meaningful.

By the way, MercyMe recently released a new song, another that highlights Horatio Spafford's hymn, "It Is Well With My Soul."  It features scenes from I Can Only Imagine 2.  

PIN ME!

I Can Only Imagine Family Discussion Guide for Christian Families | Faith-Based Movie Reflection

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