S2 E2 "Completely, Completely Alive!"

     Devastated!! O Netflix, thou art cruel! To take away - with little more than a few weeks' notice - all seasons of Doctor Who from America's adoring fans is an act on par with the coldness and soulessness of a Cyberman! My days will now be vapid and my blog inspiration-less without the easy (and "free") accessibility of decades of Doctor Who! What's to be done?! This isn't an option:

impossible!

     The only consolation, reader, is that I was able to watch and ponder one last episode before I was cut off  (forever?!) like Rose in "Doomsday" (sorry. spoilers...!) from our beloved Doctor.

     Well, it certainly didn't take long for Rose (nor I) to grow fond of the Doctor's regenerated look - the "new new Doctor." So here we are - the New New Doctor on New Earth in New^15 York. However, it's the old that are of significance - The Face of Boe and Cassandra; fancy meeting them here?!
     (Take note - the Doctor likes a shop ("not a big one, just a shop"); the Face of Boe "will impart his great secret" just before his death; and the person who last tells Cassandra she's beautiful, is actually herself in a different body! Fascinating! This show though! So Timey Wimey - it pays to pay attention!)

New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York

    Continuing plot lines and reunions aside, can we talk about those "not real people"? Those humans - those poor, forgotten, rejected, suffering people - what an unimaginable life they led! Their lot was incredibly tragic. And when finally free from their pods, they were still bound by their disease - separated from people by their own repulsiveness and infection. What they needed was a cure; they needed life; they needed a Doctor. *Dunt du duh! As always, that's exactly who arrived on the scene just in time to save the day with a little creativity and his sonic screwdriver! With some quick thinking, a concoction of every cure known to man, and a very efficient showering system, he was able to cure the whole lot! Brilliant! The result? "A brand new form of life - New Humans!"

"They were born sick...They were meant to be sick."

    Earlier, when Cassandra shared what she'd seen and felt while she was briefly inside the diseased patient - "they're so alone. They keep reaching out just to hold us. All their lives and they've never been touched." - I thought of all of the times recorded in the Gospels when Jesus touched people just like them. He continually reached out to the rejects, the unclean, the shunned, the diseased and broken. When everyone else walked away, he walked towards them. When everyone else said get lost, He said "come near." It wasn't the well that He had come for: "they have no need of a physician." He came for the sick.  But it was more than a smile, a handout or even a temporary cure that He offered; He was offering life eternal! Yes, He healed their bodies, but He "came that they may have life and have it more abundantly."

"Come on!"

     When the Doctor cleverly assembled his curing disinfectant shower, he gave those poor creatures life - a second chance! Those who had once been shunned, imprisoned, and doomed to death received the gift of life. Just so, Jesus offers a 'disinfecting shower' - His own blood. Your sins, your impurities, your vile disgusting  heart, your incurable disease of sin can all be washed as white as snow. Yes, it sounds too good to be true - but it's not! "God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him."  Paul reminds the Corinthians that they too were once wicked people, "and such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ."  Simply step into the 'shower' of God's grace, His free gift, and be washed in the blood of the Lamb! and become "Completely, completely alive!" Not just an "echo of life" - Completely, completely alive! Be healed, be cleansed, find hope and joy and life in Jesus - then "PASS IT ON! PASS IT ON!" Don't keep it to yourself! Share the healing!

"Pass it on! Pass it on!"

(I can't talk about this without thinking of this song: "Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb")

S2 E1 "It Is Gonna Be Fantastic!"

     Welcome David Tennant! Weeell, actually he made his first appearance in the last episode, but that's minor! Here's to the "rude and not ginger" doctor, the one who does impressive things in his "jim-jams" doctor, the grown-back hand doctor, the pin-stripe suited doctor,... my doctor - the proper doctor!
Anyways. A Savior on Christmas!? What a novel thought! Well, not really! And in case you're thinking I'm about to compare the regenerated doctor to the Savior of the World... you're wrong...mostly wrong anyways...no, actually wrong. Of course the analogy could all too easily be made (I mean "standing as the World's Champion" could preach!); however, I'm somewhat distracted by the destined arrival of the 10th Doctor! :)

"You stand as the World's Champion!"
"...You just summed me up!"

     So, here's a bit of trivia that I've learned from the ever reliable source of Pinterest (and have since confirmed elsewhere): when David Tennant was a youth, his greatest dream was to be the Doctor when he grew up! Allow me to play Captain Obvious here and say, "his dream came true!" (additional fact: he has since married the daughter of Peter Davison the 5th Doctor! Bonus!). Talk about the best Christmas ever for David - "The Christmas Invasion" was, like, his life-long request to Santa finally sitting under the twinkling Christmas tree! Could you imagine if you'd told him decades ago when he was just a wee lad in Scotland that he would indeed make millions of people happy when he would one day assume the role of the longest living television character in history? How would that have changed his life? Probably not much. As I understand it, he was a rather singularly minded boy. He pursued theatre and drama with the understanding that it would help him achieve his personal goal of donning the persona of a Timelord eventually. Talk about driven!

Young David Tennant

David Tennant with Georgia Moffett (future wife!)

     Honestly, I don't really know where I'm going with this. Sometimes I just like to take a step back to look back, so I can see the bigger picture. They say retrospect is 20/20 afterall!  Recently I spent some time with a friend who's played a large role in my life. We were comparing notes on all of the ways God has directed our steps over the last 15 years. The people we met, the jobs we've landed, the places we've gone, the experiences we've had... all of which line up perfectly and have made us a who we are and brought us to where we are today. Like a knitted chain, one thing led to another - weaving our lives in and out of each other's. If one thing had been left out, one decision been different, one opportunity missed, our lives could have been completely different! But God had a plan all along...

     So, I guess that's where I'm going: "look at those humans. Consider their potential!" Whether you are a person of incredible foresight and passion or you are one who simply walks through doors as they are opened to you, God has a plan. God doesn't just consider, He knows your potential because He Created you! God has foreordained that you are here for a reason and for a season - "for such a time as this." As this new year begins, consider that "the steps of a man are established by the LORD when he delights in His way."  So delight in the LORD. Trust Him to guide your steps. If you think Tennant's story is sweet, imagine what God can do with one who is committed to His perfect Word and His best plan. So hang on to Jesus. Get ready for the ride of a lifetime! I can promise you, "it is gonna be fantastic!"

"It is gonna be fantastic!"

Oh and dive into Psalm 37 for starters! :)