In 2007, playwright, director and actor Tyler Perry released the eagerly anticipated, Why Did I Get Married? to both positive critical reviews and great box-office success. Despite what a few critics dismissively labeled an “African-American” buppie movie, Why Did I Get Married? expanded the cinematic road that Perry traveled in his 2005 hit” Diary of a Mad Black Woman.” Perry’s movie showed the importance of resurrection and the process of restoration.

I also liked it because it touched on one of the blessings that I’ve written about previously: restoration. This film illustrated the blessings of restoration where we embrace God’s grace and are no longer held hostage by the mistakes of our past and resurrection where we accept that sometimes in order for God to bring to life the seeds of destiny some things must die. Why Did I Get Married showed that in order for something to be resurrected, it must die first much like the truth in the scripture John 12:24 that says:

“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

What died for some of the couples was the fantasy of what the relationship was and what grows is a shocking realization of what the relationship is.

One of the movie’s strengths is the fast-paced and well written dialogue of the couples during their annual retreat in the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains. The snow capped mountains provide a perfect backdrop image for the seemingly impassable mountains of deceit, anger and self-centeredness that plague the couple’s marriages. And then it happens: the truth comes out about the secrets in each marriage….and the immature hopes of their marriages die. However, Perry shows that once that truth is exposed, the seeds of a new beginning can be planted and the hopefulness of restoration can take place. The couples in the movie had marital trouble but it was their overcoming those troubles that gave them the foundation for their future marital success.

Sometimes things die because we neglect them. In other cases, God allows them to die so he can resurrect them. Whatever the case, God has the final say so on what lives or dies…and what gets restored. The restoration process can be difficult because we must choose to submit to change. Resurrection also makes us see that God might not wipe the slate clean. Instead, he often chooses to use those things that we think disqualify us to be the thing that propels us into our future.

Part of the blessings of resurrection and restoration is that they appear to come in negative and unwanted packages initially. Similarly, we may have to let go of a dream or change our attitude about something or someone. As we continue a focus on resurrection during this Easter season, we are reminded of its importance to our growth as Christians. Once we let those old things die, we then have the great opportunity to see God use that negative thing be the foundation for us to give and live again.

Happy Resurrection…celebrate Him because he lives!

Shewanda Riley is a Dallas, Texas based author of “Love Hangover: Moving from Pain to
Purpose After a Relationship Ends” and “Writing to the Beat of God’s Heart: A Book of
Prayers for Writers.” Email her at preservedbypurpose@gmail.com or follow her on
Twitter @shewanda.