Photo by Shawn Campbell

By Chloe Sun

My favorite character in the movie “Frozen” is Olaf, the snowman. He serves as the comedic foil during the dramatic turn of events in the movie. Although he is a fictional character, he is portrayed like a human being with emotions, ideas, aspirations and dreams. Olaf was created during winter, and is destined to survive only in the snow. He has never experienced the heat of the summer season. However, he sings a song while imagining what it would be like to live during the summertime; reclining on top of the burning sand while sipping a cool drink, tanning on the beach, picking dandelions in the field, floating on the surface of the ocean, soaking in a hot bath tub, and having a picnic on the grass under the sun. One of the lines in his song is: “Put me in the summer. I would be a happy snowman.” It is hilarious for the audience to see Olaf’s ignorance of himself because it never occurs to him that his imaginations were “off.”

Most of us have dreams. What if our dreams are “off” like Olaf’s? What if our dreams are not meant to be? What if our dreams are not what we think they are if we actually achieve them? Worse than that, what if we can be destroyed if we actually reach our dreams? Olaf the snowman would have melted if someone had actually put him in the summer!

Olaf’s story reminds us:

1.  A snowman needs to know he is a snowman. Knowing who we are is at the core of our existence. Our dreams should arise out of who we are, instead of being contrary to how we were created.
2. A snowman can only live in the snow.  Like a snowman, certain things are already set when we are born. Sometimes, we need to accept the way we were created rather than to fight against it. For instance, the genes that determine our physical attributes are set by birth. We cannot alter them, but are called to embrace them. This also means we need to accept our limitations and make the most out of how we were created.
3. A snowman functions best as a snowman. A snowman would still be a snowman, even if he believed or pretended he was someone else. Sometimes, it is best for us to accept who we are. In doing so, we can be a happy snowman.

Chloe Sun, PhD., has been teaching Hebrew Scriptures at Logos Evangelical Seminary since 2004.  Her research interests include culture, gender, and identity issues in the Old Testament, Asian American Interpretations of the Bible, and Wisdom Literature. She lives with her husband and son in Southern California.