Good Evening TXK
Last summer, lying in bed with COVID, I revisited an old comfort trilogy, Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man films. They are the ones with Tobey Maguire crying with his whole face, the campy one-liners, and the upside-down kiss that defined my generation. They were in constant rotation in my household when I was growing up. I remember every square inch of their DVD covers.
As a full-grown adult, I wasn’t expecting much when I pressed play, besides maybe a little nostalgia to carry me through the fever sweats. But then Spider-Man 2 happened. I realize I am known for being overly dramatic, but I sat straight up in bed like Peter Parker just swung through my window. OH MY GOSH! This was not the superhero movie I remember it being as a kid.
Uncle Ben drops, “With great power comes great responsibility,” like he just handed Peter Parker the cheat code to life. What I always loved about that quote growing up was that it served as Peter’s North Star, carrying him through all three films. Something I looked over, though, in my childhood naivety, was how much it mirrored the intended life of a Christian.
When you come to truly know Jesus, the reality of His death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to a gift. But it’s not a gift that comes without strings. With it comes responsibility. Don’t get me wrong. It’s only through His goodness and mercy that we receive it. But with it, you’re not just living for yourself anymore.
Peter Parker received superpowers after a radioactive spider bite. The gift I was given was grace, in 2019, when I had what I can only describe as a life-altering encounter with Christ. Both are incredible gifts. But both came with the weight of responsibility.
In Spider-Man 2, Peter faces off with Dr. Otto Octavius (“Doc Ock” for short). He’s brilliant, driven, and tragically obsessed with his dream of harnessing fusion energy to create a new, limitless power source. He’s not even evil to begin with, just maybe a little overly ambitious. But his dream consumes him to the point that later in the film, he’s willing to destroy New York City to see it realized.
It is toward the end of the film, after all the battles and train stunts, that the movie peaks at a single line. Peter looks Doc Ock in the eyes and delivers one of the most profound truths I’ve ever heard in a movie. “Sometimes, to do what’s right, we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams.”
I didn’t just tear up. I cried. I bawled like a baby. Not because of how hopelessly Doc Ock’s story ends (at the bottom of a river), but because I realized how often our own “dreams” are nothing more than polished idols. They can become a blockade in the way of the righteous path we know we are meant to walk. The many things we lust after, the plans we desperately clutch to our chest, the images of success we think will finally make us feel whole almost always over-promise and under-deliver.
Dreams are not bad. But sometimes obedience to God requires us to lay them down. That absolutely wrecked me.
As kids, we wear the costumes. Literally, I can’t recall a household I walked into as a child that didn’t have the Spider-Man Halloween outfit with the little muscle pads sewn in lying around somewhere. We pretend. We play dress-up. It’s lighthearted and fun.
But we grow, and life demands more. I’ve probably had a thousand little funerals in my head for this sobering realization. We move from the costume to the calling. The “great power” or “gift” isn’t pretend anymore. It’s responsibility, spiritual warfare, the reality of living in a world that is simultaneously beautiful and broken.
Just like Peter Parker, once he had his powers, he couldn’t turn back. In a pivotal moment in Spider-Man 2, where he tries to walk away from his destiny, it nearly destroys him. Every time he ignored injustice, he got weaker. His conscience wouldn’t let him sit idly by. Neither can mine.
But sometimes, I don’t want the responsibility. I don’t like it most of the time. I want all the shiny things. I want the dreams I’ve carried since I was a kid. I don’t want to crucify my flesh every day. I’ve screamed to God, “I know Your way is better, but I do not feel that today.”
Doc Ock’s arc reminds me (even when I don’t want to be reminded) that our dreams, left unchecked, can burn down everything around us. We think our choices exist in bubbles as if no one else is affected. But they are. People are watching. Lives are touched by our obedience… and by our disobedience.
There is beauty, genuine beauty, in surrender. It’s not suppression, but a Good Father who knows what is best for us. It’s not melodramatic. It’s steady and quiet. It’s a blessing, even when it doesn’t feel like one. It says, “I will choose obedience, even when I don’t feel it. I will trust that God’s plans for me are bigger than mine.”
So maybe you opened this magazine expecting me to talk about pumpkin spice candles or Halloween costumes. Oops. This October, I needed to tell you about Spider-Man 2.
Because when Peter Parker said, “Sometimes, to do what’s right, we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams,” I heard it as if God Himself was speaking into my doubt. Maybe you needed to hear it, too.
LIVE MUSIC
October 3
Jimmy Anderson Music
Fat Jacks Oyster and Sports Bar
8 pm
October 4
Locked & Loaded
The Elks Lodge—Texakana Arkansas
October 5
The Hootens
Life House Church
6 pm
October 11
BlackStrap
Hopkins Ice House Outdoor Stage
6:30 pm
October 11
Payton Howie
Whiskey River Country
October 18
Battle on the Border featuring Heather Linn and the Deacons
Four States Fairgrounds
6 pm
October 24
Dear Iris
Fat Jacks Oyster and Sports Bar
8 pm
October 25
Texarkana Symphony Orchestra “Ode to Joy”
Perot Theatre
7 pm
October 25
Red River Revival Music Festival
Springhill, Arkansas
6 pm
October 25
Dusty Rose Band
Whiskey River Country
10 pm
October 26
Anthem Edition
Northern Hills Baptist Church
5 pm
October 31
The Downtown That Dreaded Sundown—Jase Bryant
Hopkins Ice House
6:30 pm
LOCAL EVENTS
October 2
Meet & Greet with University of Arkansas Chancellor, Charles Robinson
Texarkana Chamber of Commerce
3:30-4:30 pm
October 3
Oktoberfest on Main
3rd & Main Street
Downtown Texarkana
4-9 pm
October 4
Jeans and Bling at the Beach
Texarkana Texas Convention Center
7 pm
October 4
Pink Out Boots & Bling
Crossties
6-9 pm
October 4-6
Lucky Dog BarrelRacing
Four States Fair and Entertainment Center
October 9
Movies in the Park: Lilo and Stitch
Spring Lake Park
Starts at Dusk
October 10
Downtown Live!
Downtown Texarkana
6-9 pm
October 11
Destination Downtown
Downtown Texarkana
5 pm
October 14
Harvest Food Bank Taste of Texarkana
Four States Fair and Entertainment Center
5-8 pm
October 16
Fall Festival
Spring Lake Park
4:30-7 pm
October 16
Movies in the Park: The Nightmare Before Christmas
Spring Lake Park
Starts at Dusk
October 17
The Unknown Tour
Texarkana Texas Convention Center
7-9:30 pm
October 23
Movies in the Park: The Town That Dreaded Sundown
Spring Lake Park
Starts at Dusk
October 25
Local Habit Autumn Market
330 E New Boston Road
11 am-2 pm
October 31
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Perot Theatre
8 pm
