Thank the Lord, today we have
sunshine! I cannot express how welcome it is, that soft, gloriously warm
embrace. It’s like being wrapped in a weightless, finest-of-fine blanket; it
makes my blood smile & sigh with happiness. I do love winter—it’s my 2nd
favorite season, but I find that the dark days necessitate reminders of
sunshine and bright times. With bright textiles of all kinds, winter is a good time to accessorize.
One thing you’ll notice about the genre if you spend
much time there is that Märchen comes packed
with accessories. Like a well-dressed, classy lady, each tale has a smattering
of select items that complement the character and are never tacky. Wise
protagonists receive these as gifts, usually magical in a specific way, and
protect them until their use becomes clear. Magic rings, bottomless sacks,
flowers, scarves, mirrors, telescopes, fish whose mouths yield oddly practical
or valuable items… the form they take is endless and varied. The two at the top
of my list, though, are a certain pair of shoes and a book.
Picture an ugly, worn pair of boots, leather, brown,
scuffed and muddy, in an antique store. They’re too big for you, but you slip
them on anyway. It used to be a favorite game as kid, wearing Mom’s sparkly
heels or Grandpa’s giant slippers that looked like bear paws. First you stand familiarizing
yourself with the fit, admiring the silliness of the look and imagining what it
would be like to own the shoes, to
know their stories and the experiences they’ll take you through. And then you
take a step toward the mirror and zip you no longer
stand in a familiar space. The speed of
the movement keeps you off balance. Step zip step zip step zip until you are
totally lost. Your thoughts take some time to catch up and with their return
comes the realization that you are wearing a pair of SEVEN LEAGUE BOOTS. These babies can take you to the action, and
quickly, for every step you take goes a distance of seven leagues[1].
Keep your Prada—I’d take those unprepossessing seven leaguers any
day!
Rewind now to browsing the local antique store. Tucked away with
old copies of Nancy Drew is another
plain item, again one that does not draw the eye except for its quietness and the
worn demeanor of being well-loved and oft-read. No title is apparent, so you
flip through it to assess the story. The first several pages are promising, so
the book goes home with you (after you somehow get back to the store and pay
for the boots and book, following your little adventure). This time it takes
months to realize what exactly now rests on your shelf. You so enjoyed the
story that you go back to it a few months later to reread it but- horror[2]!-
the story is gone! In its place is another. Then another. Then another. Every
time you read it cover to cover, the story changes and is replaced with a new
one. This precious book that would put Barnes & Noble out of business is an
undending story book.[3] [4]
Second glances—second chances—can make a radical difference. Neither
the boots nor book are much to look at, but then, how many of the things and
people we treasure do we value primarily for appearance? It is in life as it is
with these boots and book—you have to take things on, turn a lot of pages,
before you realize their priceless nature. Faith and a relationship with God
can be the same way. It’s a relationship after all, and just like human ones
takes time, effort, errors, and forgiveness. One of the lessons that I most
treasure from last year is that I’d become too comfortable with my
perception of God. I had limited Him and grossly watered down His brilliant
glory and power; I had unknowingly taken & distorted a perceived image of Him and attempted
to create something I could control. This is not easy to confess and still
carries pain for me, despite knowing I am forgiven. Here is an excerpt of
something I wrote at the time:
…this is all in answer to my prayer, isn’t it? The one
about “breaking You out of my box?” And You’re telling me You were never in it,
it’s too small and limited. I did worse than that old highwayman, stretching or
hacking off bits of his victims so they fit his table. I blindly and
misguidedly took bits & pieces I could handle and made them into a
Frankenstein god I thought to contain in the finite box of my understanding
then became frustrated when my creature wasn’t as expected, and even worse,
walked away from You in anger because of it….what lies I have created and sold
myself to. This is about healing not about a box or work or where I live or what’s
next. This is about restoration because of unfathomable LOVE because that’s
Your business and that’s YOU.”
My
faith is muddy boots and ratty books; battered treasures that took second
glances to become second chances. They are reminders of bright days when I
recognized & was forgiven of my transgressions. May you know the value of a
double-take, whether it be of an acquaintance, an opportunity, or your own
heart. In the same way, don’t let the dark days of winter with their fiercely
cold winds howl through and leave ice in your heart, blinding you to the truth
that life has more than winter. Find those remembrances of warmth and goodness,
and cling to them even if it singes your clothes. The soot stains and burn
marks will be more precious than any accessory you could buy, I promise.
[1]
According to a very quick Google query that’s equal to roughly 24 miles.
[2]
Yes, horror. Have you ever lost a story you’d fallen in love with? It’s horrible.
[3] I’ve
been unable to find a reference to this outside Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted. Märchen is Märchen
in my book though, no matter the vintage.
[4] The
magic book reminds me of a favorite verse: “Jesus did many other things as
well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole
world would not have room for the books that would be written.” John 21:25
