The "Ordinary Becomes Extraordinary" Formula

Every now and then on Fridays I read reviews on movies that will be making their debut over the weekend. Not that I'm an avid fan of the cinema or anything like that. I still pride myself on being the only person on this planet who has access to the Internet, cinema, videos, etc. who has not seen "Titanic". But I do enjoy catching the rare and not-occasional film that leaves me pleasantly satisfied - a film worth every minute I spent engrossed in its plot and surrounded by characters I could relate to. I was reading the review for "The Prestige", a movie about two dueling illusionists who start off as friends, under the tutelage of the same man. Their mentor, who actually builds hardware for the illusion industry, reveals the formula he has created that turns a mere trick into a worthwhile experience for the audience. The formula has three components. It starts off with "The Pledge". "I will make a furry bunny with big floppy ears appear from this hat!" The Pledge is the setup, based on the premise that by using ordinary materials something grand will happen. Then comes "The Turn". To me, this is flair in its highest form - the wave of a black satin cape lined with soft, red velvet. A wand as it slices through the air. And then, ta-dah! "The Prestige" - the revealing moment when something ordinary miraculously becomes extraordinary. I like formulas, and with this one I can follow the logic and understand the meaning behind each of its components. So I started rummaging through my mental files to see if this formula held a personal meaning for me. Of course it did. It wouldn't have become a blog post if it didn't!

This formula, which I will take the liberty to call the "Ordinary Becomes Extraordinary" Formula, was really created by God. He used it at Creation. There was no flap of a cape or wave of a wand. He merely spoke, took the ordinary and out came Eden, a wondrous creation that only an Artist with His love and power could ever bring to life. Story after story, event after event, He took humanity's mistakes and heartache and created beauty and purpose. His ultimate sacrifice was the final validation of the formula. Our weak, sinful, powerless souls, with His blood, have been given eternal life. He did it all because of love. Not because He wanted prestige. He's God! He did it because He wanted me there by His side for all eternity. Now I have been given the power to use the formula. But it only works if God is "The Turn" component, the action that creates and breathes life.