Amazing Grace. Based on a True Story.

England in the year of our Lord, 1797. To every traveler and citizen that day in Bath, it seemed like a normal British day. Rain poured down from the heavens, making a mess of everything. It was a wretched day. A day no sick man who was exhausted from travels would enjoy.

This man had been gone from the foggy and wet countryside of Bath for so long but coming back didn’t seem like coming home as it only managed to remind him of his unsuccessful project of his former glory years. His travel companion Henry Thornton a good friend and cousin, was taking him home so he and his wife Marianne could help him recover.

His name was Wilber. William Wilberforce, and indeed he was a force to be reckoned with despite his living with colitis and struggling like many gentleman of his rank, breeding and stature of that time did. Wilber was known to be one of the most committed and passionate men of his times to fight for the abolition of slavery. He gave up his youth and health for this cause.

With nightmares of the past haunting him, Wilber is admonished to take daily dosage of Laudanum. His host Thornton administers it to him, waiting to see better results, willing him to heal. But nothing can dull the pain of the past; the fact that Wilber never achieved his number one dream.

He sits in front of the fire and thinks of days gone by. He remembers his best friend William Pitt, Billy, who had aspirations of becoming the youngest Prime Minister in the British Parliament

Wilber remembers strolling through his property soaking up the sight of dew drenched plants. It is there he flops on his back and talks secretly with God. His butler Richard stumbles upon him and the two discuss Wilber’s discovery of God and the inconvenience of it. Wilber has, “a political career glittering in front of him but in his heart he wants spiders’ webs.” All this and more from Wilber’s past keep him from resting and recovering.

And then a funny thing happens. Thanks to the matchmaking coy actions of Thornton and his wife Marianne, they set out to find a wife for Wilber-someone who will cherish and take care of him.

Wilber and Barbara Spooner start off on the wrong foot, but amidst that develop an inside joke regarding botany that lightens the mood. And despite their annoyance and vow of never forgiving their hosts for interfering they take a stroll through the Thornton gardens.

And from there the movie takes new meaning. With Wilber’s soft voice holding an underlying bitterness and discouragement, he begins to narrate and weave together his past to fifteen years prior.

You together with Barbara meet new acquaintances that though at first Wilber was uncomfortable with soon became part of his driving force; his friends, the people whom he trusts. He forms what would appear outwardly an odd and eccentric group. Radical fanatics willing to work themselves into a grave to change the world. They wrote books, held tea parties, and stormed London like the righteous angry souls they were.

There is the lawyer who has a burden as Wilber does. James Stephen. A man whose thorough study of Latin and the workings of parliament played a huge role in Wilber’s task force.

Hannah Moore. A religious woman and philanthropist who though never spoke much left an impact when she did.

A most prominent figure to this assembly was Olaudah Equiano. He himself a former slave who bought his own freedom was like no other on the campaign. He showed Wilber how the British men marked his body to prove that Equiano,  “…no longer belonged to God but to man.” He wrote his biography that proved to be a great success.

And then there was the long curly haired Thomas Clarkson, later referred to as a “jackabee” by an MP with opposing views. Clarkson with a penchant for evoking disturbing thoughts in others with his practical demonstrations is a real character when you meet  up against his subtle humor and flask of whiskey.

You see this group, Wilber and Billy, both persuasive MPs and Moore, Stephen, Equiano, and Clarkson all fight in the fight of abolition of slavery in England in their own ways.

When at first Wilber didn’t know how to proceed he sought the advice of his former pastor, John Newton , who also was a former slave ship captain. And that is why Wilber went to him all those years later. He begged him for advice. “Just do it, For God’s sake do it.”  Newton emotionally demanded in response.

But doing it was not an easy task. Every time they entered the House of Commons there were enemies. Powerful men with opposing views fought them every step of the way as they lived luxuriously lives and their wealth was accumulated by the blood and sweat on the backs of the slaves.

No matter what proof Wilber and his slowly increasing group presented, the Duke of Clarence and MP Banastre Tarleton among hundreds of other MP’s were there to rebuff the proof and bills put before them. The house of Lords in this movie is depicted as we all would imagine it to be. A room full of roosters crowing so loud and engaging in fights and pecking each other to death.  They fight over two small corn kernels: One representing the truth, the other the untruth, yet determined to not accept a single bill of Wilber’s. And each bill was so important, so vital towards the abolition of slavery.

Saying I cried in this movie should not have much significance or hold any value as I could cry during I Love Lucy reruns. But it wasn’t just my tear ducts reacting. It was from my very being. This was, is a true story. It has to be one of the greatest reenactments I have ever partaken in as you feel the fire from the Jamaican sugarcane fields that Equiano and Stephen talk about. You feel the shackles weighing you down on the slave trade vessels that either leads a slave toward a life of sorrow or a trip across the sea that guarantees a slow and painful death. You smell the bitter and clinging odor of rotting bodies and human waste permeating through the Madagascar. A slave trade ship Wilber uses as a lesson for the spoiled and rich of London. You feel the pain, if only an increment, you feel the pain the slaves went through, and you wish you could have been on Wilber’s task force as his very walk exemplifies a follow me attitude and we’ll change the world.

As both Wilber’s retelling of his life to Barbara and the movie progresses you would almost be inclined to think that Wilberforce is impetuous. Spontaneous. Whimsical. But no, in reality he is not. He is summoned and urged by a greater force and doesn’t waste time contemplating on it like the rest of London and the world was doing.

Wilber decided to marry Barbara. He now had a wife support his cause and love him through every minute of it. That love and support Barbara showed him drove him to try again-try and succeed.

He goes back to Newton, now blind but dictating his “confession” of the life he led before he reformed. Newton talks about his life changing song. The song Amazing Grace. The words of this song quickly became a strong motivator for Wilber.

One day the lawyer, James Stephen’s Latin pays off. He finds a clever, ingenious way to begin the most effective advance to procure a bill that will positively pass in the House of Commons.

But this still will take perseverance. Wilber worked hard, and for two years pressed onward towards his dream as if in a daze. Could it finally be happening? There was death and life, trust and betrayal. Accusations of treason, denying of truth. Love and hate. Highs and lows. But was there victory? Will Wilber accomplish the abolition of slavery in the British Empire?

I fell in love with this movie the first time. This is a movie full of past, present and future scenes. It is full of historical monumental accomplishments that will last a lifetime. And presented all in the span of less than two hours.

 But it wasn’t the first time viewing it that I was aware of the depth and truth behind the scenes. No, it was somewhere in between the second and seventh time of watching it that I learned not only a historical truth but an everlasting principle and way of life. Of love. Of grace.

I learned that when an entire human race is likened to mere wild dogs, and used harsher than oxen, something very vital is missing from the hearts, souls and minds of mankind. When a skin color equates as evilness incarnate then you know it would be better for that person to be color blind or more extremely rendered completely blind if all they see when they look at a person is Black or White. White meaning worth a thought and capable of emotions. Black meaning negative worth, negative emotions.  And this is what not just England was undergoing, but the entire world. Hatred so strong it seeped out of one’s pores and drenched the footprints they left behind.

But more importantly I learned about that amazing active pardon called grace. I had experienced it my entire life, albeit there were times it was so subtle or I was too loud to acknowledge it. But that amazing grace had been bestowed on me more times than I can count. And with that grace what did I do? I harbored it in my heart and soul. I kept it to myself.

When I saw this film time after time I realized the error of my ways. Above all the seven wonders of the world I had experienced the wonder of heaven, grace, and to what end? Keeping it to myself? The story of John Newton and William Wilberforce shocked me into action, however slow I responded. Grace is something that once gifted upon you is life altering. It is something that isn’t only meant to be shared but multiplied. I have felt it, live in it, sleep by it, and walk through it, but have I ever given it? Spread it? Offered it? Not nearly enough. I am so undeserving of this powerful enigma called grace but I get it every second of every day of my life. I have received it so much that I think it’s time to extend it. To bless others with it.

And today is the best time to start it. Today March 25, 2010 marks the Two hundred and second anniversary of the slave trade Act in the United Kingdom. This act through the years had a domino effect to help change the rest of the hearts and minds of mankind to a world where slowly people realize that all men are created equally in the name of God.

So what are you doing to preserve this Act? What are you doing with that Amazing Grace you have received? By the grace of God, it’s time to sing amazing grace through my actions. What about you?