#24 :: Done

#24 - Read & Finish The Chronicles of Narnia series for the FIRST time ... Check!

So... I finished this a while ago, but haven't gotten around to making that fact known yet. I've been debating how this whole "blog + list accomplishment" thing should work. This was the first item on my list I've completed and I wasn't sure how to "share" that. But after further reflection (and multiple friends asking, "so what have you actually completed on your list?"), I've decided that if I am truly going to "maintain" a blog (#6 on my list), I better report in about what I get done. ;)

So... I finished The Chronicles of Narnia! Whoo hoo! :) And I loved it! 

I finished the last two books - The Silver Chair & The Last Battle - while on my family vacation to the beach in July. 

I spent several days (10 am to 6 pm) out on the porch, in my favorite rocking chair, reading.
(P.S. This is how happy hour should be done in my opinion.) 

And if the rocking chair got too stiff for my plump behind, I would switch it up and read on the beach. It was heavenly!

When I can, I plan on sharing some of my favorite quotes from each book. But I have to say that my favorite books were The Horse & His Boy, Prince Caspian & The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and that in order, too. Prince Caspian and The Horse & His Boy vie for first place in my heart, but I think the latter wins out. I didn't actually enjoy Prince Caspian until the late middle/end of the story. Probably because I was jaded by the horrible movie they made of the book (unfortunately, I saw it first) so it took me a while to warm up to the story. But movies never do their book justice typically and I should have remembered that. Thus, in the end, Prince Caspian won my heart. The imagery of the children following Aslan though they can't see him and don't even believe he is there will never escape me. What a powerful metaphor for the daily walk of the follower of Christ (Hebrews 11; 2 Cor. 4:16-18; Romans 8:24-25).

But it was the barrenness of The Horse & His Boy that won me. The desert waste land story turned into a refreshing oasis of redemption got a hold of me. It's the story of a kid who always knew he was different, but couldn't quite place how. Who always felt out of place and was desperate to find belonging. We all love a story like that. But what really makes the book my favorite? Chapter 11, when Corin, the "vagrant-become-prince" is walking in the dark woods alone after finally finding his place after so long. He's sent on an errand to warn his new family that their archenemy is riding fast to destroy them. While on the errand he is separated from his companions. He finds himself alone again, wandering in a wood that seems to enclose him in progressive darkness. The darkness, like the loneliness, encroaches on his being and spirit alike, turning him to despair. He throws a pity party (one I could see myself in so clearly). But then a new feeling overtakes him: terror. He is not alone after all. He senses the presence of someone else. He questions if this emotion is imagined, but soon he feels a heavy warm breathe on his back. This deep sigh validates his fear. There is someone beside him. He speaks and discovers a friend. It's Aslan, waiting to be recognized, proving to Corin that he was never alone - past or present. Aslan listens to Corin's sorrows and comforts him with His warming breath. 

This imagery brought to tears to my eyes. I walk this way all the time: believing I am alone when all along God is beside me breathing his warm protection on me, patiently waiting for me to turn around acknowledge Him. He's never disappointed in me that I go about doing my own thing. He knows I am ridiculous and hard headed. But He does ache for me to turn toward His face and see Him. He eagerly waits for me to turn around and remember He is there. When I finally do, all conviction is found when I fix my eyes on Him, when I remember that I am not alone and that I am definitely not in charge. The Horse & His Boy rings with the truth of God's sovereignty and that truth anchors my wavering heart. 

The book blessed me - the whole series did. And it proves to be a rich and rewarding decision to have this on my list & to have accomplished it. It motivates me to keep pressing forward. And so I shall. Onward & Upward!

H::

"Child," said the Voice. "I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own."