Sam: “It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were…But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going, because they were holding on to something.”
Frodo: “What were they holding onto, Sam?”
Sam: “That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers
I think Sam had a point in what he was saying: the stories that matter most to us are the ones that involve struggle, where against all probability the characters do the impossible, and where it gets so dark and scary that we may not want to know the ending, because it seems that darkness will win. For a time, the darkness in the story is so thick it blots out any light, but then, the light breaks through, and there’s hope…only you realize that hope has always been in the story, you just didn’t always see it.
The stories which stand out to us and make an impression have a purpose driven plot, the characters fight for a cause greater than themselves, and they do so for others. Take Frodo from Lord of the Rings, or Katniss from The Hunger Games, and the children from The Chronicles of Narnia, to name a few.
I believe stories like these attract people because everyone can relate to the idea of purpose and hope. It’s the idea that it’s not the most qualified who complete the journey, but rather, it’s the ones who don’t turn back and give up; it’s the idea that they keep going, because they believe there is a hope.
When I was involved in campus ministry, there was a common theme I noticed in each student I got to know: they wanted purpose and meaning, they wanted hope that they could and would find purpose and meaning. Being an English major, I studied all kinds of literature, both historical and modern, and I found that this same theme seemed to bleed through the stories no matter how old the writing was. But why? During my senior year in college I found myself wondering why we study literary fiction to begin with. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but I was truly curious. What is it about stories that would make my professors choose to be professional educators on the subject, and dedicate their lives to studying them? And what is it about these stories that makes us care?
I think now, I’m beginning to understand. God created man to have purpose and meaning; He placed eternity in the heart of man, so it’s only natural that we would want our lives to make an impact that outlives us. I believe we are hardwired for adventure because man was created for the greatest adventure imaginable: to have fellowship with God.
I believe God desires to give His children a kingdom mindset which transforms seeing life as a mundane routine, into a story greater than any human could ever tell. I believe that as Christians we are called to go to the darkest places, in the darkest times, and be a light of hope to others. I believe that we are called to partake in a journey of fellowship with God the Father, to follow in His footsteps wherever He leads, and to share the message of salvation and hope to our neighbors and to all nations. I believe that God calls us to do the impossible, and to ask Him what His dreams are for our lives instead of us settling for our own dreams. I believe that we must dare to have the courage to dream with God, because His dreams for our lives are far greater than we could come up with on our own.
I never saw myself committing to living out of a backpack for eleven months and traveling nonstop to eleven countries. And I never thought I’d be camping for ten days in Georgia, eating mostly rice, hiking with my pack, shivering and snuggling to stay warm, using porta potties, and having buckets of chilly water to bath myself with (courtesy of training camp). I know that God has already begun to change me in order to prepare me for my journey ahead; after camp, I felt more confident as a person, I was challenged to trust my teammates and depend on others (something I struggle with), and I learned that you really can be okay with very little comfort. Although what lies ahead is unknown, and I’m sure to run into obstacles/challenges, I can say that I have never felt so safe, peaceful, and excited as I do now, knowing that I am taking this journey with God.
Is every Christian called by God to go on the World Race? Nope. Is every Christian called by God to walk with Him. Yes. No matter where you are in life, or if you even believe in God, my prayer is that if you are reading this blog, that you will have the courage to dream with God, and allow Him to create in you a remarkable story. I love how C.S. Lewis puts it when he describes Aslan as not a tame or safe lion, but he is a good lion. God is anything but safe, but He is good, and He has created us to live purpose driven lives, and to make an impact for eternity. Yes, the journey He calls you on will probably be difficult, and His dreams He has for you will probably be impossible for you to do without His help. But herein lies the sweetest lesson a child of God could learn: to trust our Father. There will be many moments where we can turn around and give up on what God is calling us to do, but those are the moments we must decide to trust Him, and continue to follow His voice forward. Because the there is good in this world, and there is Hope in this world, and He goes by the name of Jesus Christ.
“Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.” Proverbs 4:25
~~~Below is a song we sang at camp called “Head to the Heart”…it may be my new theme song for this season. “There’s no shame in looking like a fool when I give You what I cant keep to take a hold of You.”~~~
