God is real.
Everything else, not so much.
Isn’t that nice?
~Triss
Monday, November 10, 2008
Get Stubborn
So about the title... It seems kind of random, but after you read the rest of the post I hope it will make more sense, keeping in mind that believing no matter what junk you are going through is a lot like being stubborn. In fact, hope is something you need to intentionally be stubborn about.
For those of you who hadn’t already guessed, I’m a bit of a C.S. Lewis fan. Even in his fantasy novels he wrote addressing at least half a million subjects that are very applicable to our everyday life. I don’t need to tell anybody that it’s getting pretty late in the year, a most people have a lot on their plate, the election went in a completely opposite direction than many of us would have liked, and this is a very easy time to get bogged down and hopeless. Getting depressed about anything and everything; America, emotions, our lives at home, homework, applications, and so many of the other complications that happen when you are trying your hardest to function productively on a daily basis is highly possible.
Well, this post is going to focus on, (yeah, I know this is gonna sound cheesy), but it’s going to focus on looking for the bright side of things and not loosing hope.
I’m not telling anyone to “stuff it”. You are real, you have real feelings, and bad or annoying things are happening to you, then the last thing you need to do is turn all fluffy and sweet and pretend like your life is sunshine and roses without thorns. There is a difference between “stuffing it” and intentionally keeping your mind on things that will uplift and inspire you. You need to keep on hoping and trusting that God knows what he’s doing with you and your future even when you don’t, because if that belief ever fails then all that is left is a shadow of a person chasing his tail and bewailing that he was ever born at all. As harsh as that sounds, it happens. But where does C.S. Lewis tie into all this?
Now I realize that Puddleglum from Lewis’ The Silver Chair isn’t exactly the first person that would come to mind when you try to think of a role model, but maybe this quote will change your mind. A quick catch up in the book: Jill, Eustace, Puddleglum, and the Prince, are in the underworld, where the witch is trying to convince them that there is no Narnia, no sun, no Aslan. Nothing but her dark domain, she has been pretending that they are dreamers, playing childish games, she almost has them convinced and feeling more than a little hopeless…
“But Puddleglum, desperately gathering all his strength, walked over to the fire. Then he did a very brave thing. He knew it wouldn’t hurt him quite as much as it would hurt a human; for his feet (which were bare) were webbed and hard and cold-blooded like a duck’s. Bus he knew it would hurt him badly enough; and so it did. With his bare foot he stamped on the fire, grinding a large part of it into ashes on the flat hearth. And three things happened at once. First, the sweet heavy smell grew very much less. For though the whole fire had not been put out, a good bit of it had, and what remained smelled very largely of burnt Marsh-wiggle, which is not at all an enchanting smell. This instantly made everyone’s brain far clearer. The Prince and the children held up their heads again and opened their eyes.
Secondly, the Witch, in a loud, terrible voice, utterly different from all the sweet tones she had been using up till now, called out, ‘What are you doing? Dare to touch my fire again, mud-filth, and I’ll turn the blood to fire inside your veins.’
Thirdly, the pain itself made Puddleglum’s head for a moment perfectly clear and he knew exactly what he really thought. There is nothing like a good shock of pain for dissolving certain kinds of magic.
‘One word, Ma’am,’ he said, coming back from the fire; limping, because of the pain. ‘One word. All you’ve been saying is quite right, I shouldn’t wonder. I’m a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won’t deny any of what you said. But there’s one thing more to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things –trees and grass and sun and moon and starts and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play-world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we’re leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that’s small loss if the world’s as dull a place as you say.”
Puddleglum wasn’t particularly strong, or smart, or anything. But he believed with a fire that would not be quenched by anything. He trusted that Aslan was the right, and knew that the witch could only be wrong. His belief and trust made the turning point for the rest of the book. He led the children and the Prince to safety, because he didn’t loose faith.
Sure, you might say, he’s a character in a book. Point conceded, he is just a character in a book. But people, real people, C.S. Lewis himself, faced some pretty terrible stuff. Death, heartbreak, atheism, blood. In fact, if you read Lewis’ biography, you’ll see, he wasn’t just some idyllic smart guy who sat elevated above all the pain and horror of this earth. He faced more than his share of hopelessness and grief. But at one point in his life, he chose to believe no matter what, and just look how that decision has impacted literally millions of lives.
A favorite song of mine, I Believe in Love, by Barlow girl, says,
“I believe in the sun, even when it’s not shining. I believe in love, even when I can’t feel it! I believe in God, even when He is silent! I believe!”
It may seem like I keep harping on that belief thing, believing that God will pull you through no matter what, but if you don’t have that hope, even if you owned the world, you wouldn’t have anything. Think about it.
Hanging in there,
~Triss
For those of you who hadn’t already guessed, I’m a bit of a C.S. Lewis fan. Even in his fantasy novels he wrote addressing at least half a million subjects that are very applicable to our everyday life. I don’t need to tell anybody that it’s getting pretty late in the year, a most people have a lot on their plate, the election went in a completely opposite direction than many of us would have liked, and this is a very easy time to get bogged down and hopeless. Getting depressed about anything and everything; America, emotions, our lives at home, homework, applications, and so many of the other complications that happen when you are trying your hardest to function productively on a daily basis is highly possible.
Well, this post is going to focus on, (yeah, I know this is gonna sound cheesy), but it’s going to focus on looking for the bright side of things and not loosing hope.
I’m not telling anyone to “stuff it”. You are real, you have real feelings, and bad or annoying things are happening to you, then the last thing you need to do is turn all fluffy and sweet and pretend like your life is sunshine and roses without thorns. There is a difference between “stuffing it” and intentionally keeping your mind on things that will uplift and inspire you. You need to keep on hoping and trusting that God knows what he’s doing with you and your future even when you don’t, because if that belief ever fails then all that is left is a shadow of a person chasing his tail and bewailing that he was ever born at all. As harsh as that sounds, it happens. But where does C.S. Lewis tie into all this?
Now I realize that Puddleglum from Lewis’ The Silver Chair isn’t exactly the first person that would come to mind when you try to think of a role model, but maybe this quote will change your mind. A quick catch up in the book: Jill, Eustace, Puddleglum, and the Prince, are in the underworld, where the witch is trying to convince them that there is no Narnia, no sun, no Aslan. Nothing but her dark domain, she has been pretending that they are dreamers, playing childish games, she almost has them convinced and feeling more than a little hopeless…
“But Puddleglum, desperately gathering all his strength, walked over to the fire. Then he did a very brave thing. He knew it wouldn’t hurt him quite as much as it would hurt a human; for his feet (which were bare) were webbed and hard and cold-blooded like a duck’s. Bus he knew it would hurt him badly enough; and so it did. With his bare foot he stamped on the fire, grinding a large part of it into ashes on the flat hearth. And three things happened at once. First, the sweet heavy smell grew very much less. For though the whole fire had not been put out, a good bit of it had, and what remained smelled very largely of burnt Marsh-wiggle, which is not at all an enchanting smell. This instantly made everyone’s brain far clearer. The Prince and the children held up their heads again and opened their eyes.
Secondly, the Witch, in a loud, terrible voice, utterly different from all the sweet tones she had been using up till now, called out, ‘What are you doing? Dare to touch my fire again, mud-filth, and I’ll turn the blood to fire inside your veins.’
Thirdly, the pain itself made Puddleglum’s head for a moment perfectly clear and he knew exactly what he really thought. There is nothing like a good shock of pain for dissolving certain kinds of magic.
‘One word, Ma’am,’ he said, coming back from the fire; limping, because of the pain. ‘One word. All you’ve been saying is quite right, I shouldn’t wonder. I’m a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won’t deny any of what you said. But there’s one thing more to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things –trees and grass and sun and moon and starts and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play-world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we’re leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that’s small loss if the world’s as dull a place as you say.”
Puddleglum wasn’t particularly strong, or smart, or anything. But he believed with a fire that would not be quenched by anything. He trusted that Aslan was the right, and knew that the witch could only be wrong. His belief and trust made the turning point for the rest of the book. He led the children and the Prince to safety, because he didn’t loose faith.
Sure, you might say, he’s a character in a book. Point conceded, he is just a character in a book. But people, real people, C.S. Lewis himself, faced some pretty terrible stuff. Death, heartbreak, atheism, blood. In fact, if you read Lewis’ biography, you’ll see, he wasn’t just some idyllic smart guy who sat elevated above all the pain and horror of this earth. He faced more than his share of hopelessness and grief. But at one point in his life, he chose to believe no matter what, and just look how that decision has impacted literally millions of lives.
A favorite song of mine, I Believe in Love, by Barlow girl, says,
“I believe in the sun, even when it’s not shining. I believe in love, even when I can’t feel it! I believe in God, even when He is silent! I believe!”
It may seem like I keep harping on that belief thing, believing that God will pull you through no matter what, but if you don’t have that hope, even if you owned the world, you wouldn’t have anything. Think about it.
Hanging in there,
~Triss
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