Till We Have Faces

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails."

This painting shows the love between Cupid and Psyche, perhaps right before their separation.

This was definitely a different read from most of Lewis' other books. It was more dark, it was really more sinister, and taught me about the wiles and dangers of possessive and jealous love. We learn almost at the beginning of the story of what Orual does to try and win Psyche back. In her pride and jealous rage, she stabs herself, convinces Psyche to do exactly what cupid commanded her not  to, causing Psyche to leave her "Garden of Eden," where she was happy, and ends up wandering the Earth and suffering.

The rest of the story focuses on Orual's pain in growing up, her abusive Father eventually dying, leaving Orual to take the throne. Orual never finds peace, not really until she comes to understand who she is, well she never really finds it. But, she comes to understand herself, and what pain has come from her choices and blinded love.

I hope never to be like her, and to be able to love as Christ would have me do.

Shadowlands

Having spent the semester reading a good number of Lewis' books, I was a little less excited to read a play about him. 1. I normally prefer watching plays, or so I thought 2. It wasn't written by Lewis. I was pleasantly surprised as I enjoyed the play thoroughly. It was fascinating to be able to read about Lewis through the words of another, and how his life might have unfolded. As the playwright quoted from Lewis', and seemed to do his best to stay true to Lewis' life, it was a nice, intimate glimpse at a life of one whom I admire very much.

The progression seen in Lewis' character as he interacts with Joy's letters, and then Joy herself, reminded me that we are all people, including Lewis, which is perhaps why he had such great insight into life and the human condition.

My favorite line and imagery was this, that ""we're like blocks of stone, out of which the sculptor carves the forms of men. The blows of His chisel, which hurt so much, are what makes us perfect." 


Hopefully I can remember that always. 

A Grief Observed

"No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear."

Oft quoted, but so true. Grief and fear are so intertwined, I believe, because fear can be the cause of grief, and vice versa.

The intensity of this book was captivating, but almost pushed me away at the same time. The rawness of emotion was something that I did not expect to see. The progression of his thoughts was fascinating to behold. The doubt that he had was eventually overcome by his faith, but it was great insight to see just how fallible we all are, as he realizes that "It's only in our depravity that makes them look black to us."

One of the parts that I really enjoyed actually focused on a little lesson that H. had learned years earlier.

On the other hand, 'Knock and it shall be opened.' But does knocking mean hammering and kicking the door like a maniac? And there's also 'To him that hath shall be given.' After all, you must have a capacity to receive, or even omnipotence can't give. Perhaps your own passion temporarily destroys the capacity.
For all sorts of mistakes are possible when you are dealing with Him. Long ago, before we were married, H. was haunted all one morning as she went about her work with the obscure sense of God (so to speak) 'at her elbow,' demanding her attention. And of course, not being a perfected saint, she had the feeling that it would be a question, as it usually is, of some unrepented sin or tedious duty. At last she gave in—I know how one puts it off—and faced Him. But the message was, 'I want to give you something' and instantly she entered into joy.

 God will always give us what we need, and I believe and hope that Lewis learned that. His love for H. was what he needed them, to teach him, and eventually, even his grief observed could even be a joy.

The Last Battle

Though it is a set of children's books, The Chronicles of Narnia certainly explores the darker side of nature, and implicatively, human nature. There are those who dare to oppose good, to try and imitate that which is real and true.

When I was reading this book, the anger I felt towards the ape was surprising, but again now, as I think about it, it was anger towards evil. Anyhow, on to happier things. It was interesting to see the trials that they had to go through, and what they eventually accomplished as they had faith and were willing to fight to the death, to, "give up their lives for their friends."

One of the finals views that we have gives me a glimpse, I suppose, of the realness, the reality of the Heaven that I hope to inherit one day.

   The new [Narnia] was a deeper country: every rock and flower and blade of grass looked as if it meant more. I can't describe it any better than that: if ever you get there you will know what I mean.
     It was the Unicorn who summed up what everyone was feeling. He stamped his right fore-hoof on the ground and neighed, and then he cried:
     "I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that is sometimes looked a little like this. Bree-hee-hee! Come further up, come further in!"

I hope that I do my best to build my life on to be as real as I can, so I can get as many glimpses of Heaven as I can.

The Magician's Nephew

I don't think I'll ever be able get over just how amazing the Narnia series is. Because it's so amazing, I just bought this gorgeous copy.

Anyhow, I think I might have read The Magician's Nephew a long time ago. I know I have it on my bookshelf at home, but I can't remember reading it. The story is a reminder of the creation, of how God, in His own way, created our worlds and many of His other worlds. I very much enjoyed the way Lewis symbolized the creation with Aslan's singing voice, whose sound was described as "beautiful."

Evil always has a way of coming into the world, or a world. God will always provide a place of protection or refuge, like the tree. The question is, will we stay by it?

The event/situation that stuck home for me the most was when Digory was sent to get the fruit from the gated garden far away. When he first asked Aslan if he could have it for his mother, he saw amidst his tears that Aslan Himself was crying. It was a stark reminder to me that the Savior feels every pain and hurt that we go through. He knows exactly how we feel. In the garden itself, Digory has struggles, both within himself and with the witch. There are so many things that we have to overcome, temptations within ourselves and with the adversary. But, as we rely on Christ, we can and will overcome all.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Reepicheep was my hero in this book. His courage and faith are exemplified in his words as they sailed into the darkness.

"And why not?" he said. "Will someone explain to me why not."

"If I were addressing peasants or slaves," he said, "I might suppose that this suggestion proceeded from cowardice. But I hope it will never be told in Narnia that a company of noble and royal persons in the flower of their age turned tail because they were afraid of the dark.

"But what manner of use would it be ploughing through that blackness?" asked Drinian.

"Use?" replied Reepicheep. "Use, Captain? If by use you mean filling our bellies or our purses, I confess it will be no use at all. So far as I know we did not set sail to look for things useful but to seek honour and adventures. And here is as great an adventure as ever I heard of, and here, if we turn back, no little impeachment of all our honours."

The story, I feel, is to teach us that there is nothing that we cannot overcome. From Eustace, we see a person who changes after a choice encounter with the Divine. We see the emotions that are overcome when Caspian and Edmund fight at the island of Deathwater, and we see how they all work together as they battle the sea serpent and get through the darkness. Lucy herself has to find her own self-worth after looking at the magician's book. They are willing to sail to the ends of the Earth, not knowing what they will find, but relishing in the great adventures ahead.

In the same way, we cannot see what lies ahead in our lives. But, if we have faith and rely on our friends and family, we can always overcome. There might be strange things and dark spots in our lives, but there is always light ahead, especially when we call on and rely on the One who gives all life.

Perelandra

I'll admit that the beginning of the book was pretty hard to read, in the sense that it was more confusing. But, as I got more into the book, I began to appreciate the beauty of the story and its relation to the creation of our own earth. Two themes/ideas early stood out to me.

1. Temptation comes and goes, it is up to us to decide what we are going to do with it.

"Thus, and not otherwise, the world was made. Either something or nothing must depend on individual choices."

While the lady had no sense of right and wrong, she still had to make choices, to listen to reason and logic and decide for herself what was inherently right. While we know right and wrong and are tempted, we have the Holy Ghost to balance us out. That being said, it is a challenge for us not to be clouded by that. But, we do have the ability to choose, to make up our minds to have a clear mind by staying worthy.

2. Each of us are little Maledils

What I mean by that, and want to expound on, is that we are little Christ's, in so many different ways. Ransom is the perfect example as he teaches each of us that we can be a representative of Christ. While Ransom might have felt that he wasn't prepared or strong enough, there came a time when he realized that he had to fight the un-man, whether or not he liked it. In the same way, there comes a time when we have to decide that we are on the Lord's side, and do all we can to fight the adversary and everything he stands for. We are stronger and better than we think we are. If we can have that faith and courage, then we will be able to overcome all.