"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver, "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King; I tell you." from The Lion, The Witch and The WardrobeC.S. Lewis has been a favorite author of mine for a long-time. In college, his book Mere Christianity rescued my faith from a Philosophy of Religion class in a way that my friends and that my memorized Bible verses couldn't do. But, what put Lewis in extra high regard for me was the year that I read the Chronicles of Narnia out loud to my children the first time. It was my first year of homeschooling; I had a 6, 5 and 3 year old. In order to accommodate their different reading levels, I was reading separate books to each of them: Johnny Tremain and Heidi to the oldest, Cricket in Times Square to the next and picture books to the youngest (at the time). I would fall asleep reading. (My excuse then? I was pregnant. (No such excuse today but, I digress.))
And then, I pulled out The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis and began to read. The three of them were spellbound. And so was I. And Lewis rose further in my esteem than he had been before. I didn't know that this was possible! I was staying awake, looking forward to reading aloud, was rescued from reading three different stories at a time, and given insight to mull over as I went about my day. Can you ask for more than that? (As an aside: I will say, though, that the three year old was engaged in the first book but didn't hang through the whole series until she was a little older.)
I'm looking forward to re-reading my top three favorites: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair. I will probably re-read the whole series; it just may or may not happen in July as part of this challenge.
The quote about not safe but good reminds me of the character of God (and also this post over HERE). I even used it as an analogy at Bible study when we were working through the fear of the Lord and what that is to look like. This image of the Beavers talking about Aslan came quickly to mind. Word pictures works so well.
And another favorite concept is from The Silver Chair.
"And secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the Mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart. And pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters. " from the Silver Chair
Sometimes it seems so clear the directions from the Lord -- in a quiet time or at church. And then when I go to work it out in my daily life, it looks a lot different. Then, I am reminded of this things are muddier down here idea from Narnia and I am encouraged.
I'll be sharing some more insights as I go. Hope it encourages you to join us in the challenge.
Kathleen
