The Light of a Narnian Lamppost
"It will not go out of my mind that if we pass this post and lantern, either we shall find strange adventures or else some great changes of our fortunes."
― Lucy Pevensie
Rates are reasonable. |
I love the feel of December, don't you? Perhaps we call it "the most wonderful time of the year" because it's a time when most of us feel more like children. Christmas has this magical ability to bring back nostalgic memories of bygone days while simultaneously generating newer, warmer memories. It's like a cup of hot chocolate for the heart!
One of my favorite memories of Christmas is when, at the age of seven, I opened my stocking to find a cartoon version of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
Although the cartoon was poorly done, my seven-year-old self couldn't get enough of it! Every Christmas, I would watch it over and over again. There was just something in the story of which I couldn't get enough (mostly, I just wanted to find the land of Narnia for myself—adventures that I detailed in this blog post).
Many years later, I found solace in the words of C. S. Lewis, author of the Chronicles of Narnia and numerous works of non-fiction.
At the time, I was wading through a very difficult time and my mind had been overcome with an almost tangible darkness. The light-hearted, yet deeply profound and comforting writings of C. S. Lewis were like a lamppost to my soul—something that led me out of the darkness and placed me among caring friends.
In this, I've often felt that the light of that literary lamppost was akin to the light of God, leading me out of myself to reach upward and walk forward among others.
I love this exchange from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. In this scene, Eustace has just experienced a remarkable transformation of character because Aslan helped him change (replace the word 'Aslan' with 'God').
“I think you've seen Aslan," said Edmund.
"Aslan!" said Eustace. "I've heard that name mentioned several times since we joined the Dawn Treader. And I felt - I don't know what - I hated it. But I was hating everything then. And by the way, I'd like to apologise. I'm afraid I've been pretty beastly."
"That's all right," said Edmund. "Between ourselves, you haven't been as bad as I was on my first trip to Narnia. You were only an ass, but I was a traitor."
"Well, don't tell me about it, then," said Eustace. "But who is Aslan? Do you know him?"
"Well - he knows me," said Edmund. "He is the great Lion, the son of the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea, who saved me and saved Narnia. We've all seen him. Lucy sees him most often. And it may be Aslan's country we are sailing to.”And on some level, perhaps we're all journeying to Aslan's country—a land of light, no doubt. :)
A picture from the cartoon I watched as a kid. Mr. Tumnus is one dope devil with a fro! |