Frodo

Revisiting Rivendell

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Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of Audible. The latest listen is The Lord of the Rings, one of my favorite books ever. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve either read or listened to this trilogy (which technically is really one book divided into three parts). I always forget how incredible the story is and how Tolkien created an entire world complete with mythology and languages out of his own imagination.

For me, revisiting a favorite book is like going to a familiar spot on vacation. You know what to expect. You know what’s coming. Yet there are those moments you forgot that come back to mind once you start the book. And this is one case where as much as I really liked the movies, the books were way better.

I always used to imagine what it would be like to go on a quest like the one Frodo and friends end up on. Part of me still thinks it might be exciting, but the whole sleeping on the ground is a bit less appealing than it used to be. I’d prefer the comfy dwellings of Bag End with all its Hobbit furnishings and multiple meals and so forth. I do feel that I am a Hobbit at heart.

But also there is so much of the gospel in these books. So many of the characters have Christlike qualities and make noble sacrifices for the good of the company. Plus, there’s the whole good versus evil theme that never grows old.

I recommend starting with The Hobbit (or if you’re really adventurous and brave, start with The Silmarillion, which gives you a rich and detailed historyfor how Middle Earth came into being). It helps if you’re reading to find a hardback copy with good illustrations. It help to visualize what you’re reading.

If that makes me a nerd, so be it. At least for the next few weeks, I’m a happy nerd.

When You Know the Ending

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I’ve mentioned it before (I think) that I have a few books that I like to re-read every year. One of those is The Lord of the Rings, which is actually one novel with three parts and not a trilogy of novels as is commonly believed these days– but I digress.

You might think that for me to already know the outcome would diminish my enjoyment of this book. Actually, it’s quite the opposite.

For me, knowing the end makes some of the darker parts of the book more bearable. Knowing that Frodo and his faithful Samwise will come out alright in the end (spoiler alert) helps me through some of the passages when it seems that all will be lost.

It’s like that when I read the Bible. If you look at the metanarrative of the Bible story and keep the ending in mind, it makes some of the Old Testament passages (particularly Judges and the majority of the writings of the prophets) easier to stomach. Knowing that the Messiah is soon to arrive helps me get through all the apostasy and idolatry of the people called out by God.

In my own story, there have been many times when I’ve had to remind myself of the happy ending that awaits me. I am no different than most of you who have gone through dark and difficult chapters where the villain seems to be winning and hope seems all but lost. Sometimes, you think that if your life were a novel, it would be either a black comedy or a dark tragedy with no chance of a redemptive ending.

But the ending has already been written. God wins. Love does actually win in the truest sense. Not the warm fuzzy kind of love that comes with butterflies in your stomach, but the kind that lays down its life for a friend. That’s the love that wins in the end.

Everything good about this life will be redeemed. All the evil will be undone and all the lies exposed and banished forever. All the best parts of your deepest longings and dreams will be fully realized.

You are allowed to skip ahead and read the last chapter, Revelation 22. It’s my favorite ending of all time.

 

The Road Goes Ever On and On

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A hiking trail at Radnor Lake State Park

A friend and I went hiking in Radnor Lake State Park. We took the Ganier Ridge trail, which is a bit more difficult but also more rewarding for the scenery and wildlife.

As I was walking, my mind immediately went to the scene in the first Lord of the Rings movie where Frodo and his companions set off on their quest. I almost felt like a hobbit as I walled down the wooded trail.

I also remembered how the movies were great, but the books were so much better because there’s just so many themes the movies never really delved into. Such as how the present age was passing away and a new one was coming. Regardless of whether Frodo succeeded in destroying the One Ring, so much would be lost forever.

Life is like that. As much as we try to hold on to things and people and places, we end up losing them.

You can choose to be saddened by the loss. Or you can choose to use what time you’re given wisely and make the most of these things and people and places while you have them.

But really, when you think about it, do we ever lose anything? Didn’t Jesus say that whoever suffered loss for the sake of the Kingdom, whoever made sacrifices and said goodbyes would receive a 1000 times what they lost in the life to come?

So maybe we never really do say goodbye at all. Maybe it’s more of a “See you later.”

All that from one nature walk. I really should get back to this place more often.

Aside from the heat and humidity, it was a perfect walk. Well, more humidity than heat. I’m a wimp when it comes to heat.

I’ll also have to make a point to re-read The Lord of the Rings sometime in the very near future.