You're in a Good Story
“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
Like many of you, I have a small collection of books that have been deemed worthy to be reread every year or two. The Harry Potters are in that category. Recently, while going through the Harry Potter books again, I was beginning the seventh and final book in the series.
Not too far into The Deathly Hallows the heroes, Hermione, Ron, and Harry begin a serious and dangerous quest to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort. For several chapters, however, the quest consists of the three heroes hiding out in a damp tent in various bleak forests and rainy moors of England. They have no clear direction forward and the reader watches them get ever grumpier and despairing; cold, confused, and with an evil horcrux around their neck.
Since my first time reading the book, I have been known to skim this section, finding it too gloomy to bear more than once. This time I was telling my kids about where I was in the book and how, as usual, I was about to do some speed reading when my youngest daughter protested, “No! Don’t skip it! That’s my favorite part. It’s the trudge. I love a good trudge.”
What?! A good trudge? What is she talking about? But for her sake, I decided to plow through it and immerse myself in “the trudge.” As the well-worn pages turned much more slowly than I would have liked I found myself resisting the temptation to turn two pages instead of one. The middle part of a story is never my favorite. It is usually when things are dark and the character is forced to see if they have what it takes to go on or if it would be feasible to crawl under a rock and wait for a better hero to turn up. I am a classic crawl under the rock type which is why I’d rather hurry things along in a book to the action; the point where the battle is raging and you have no time to think. But this time I forced myself to acknowledge every moment of the quest.
As I read I began to think about my daughter. Why did she love “a good trudge”? This girl whose life must be feeling like quite a trudge as she deals with chronic pain and all that has manifested because of it: endless doctor appointments, doubts and fears about her future, unanswered prayer, waiting, discouragement, physical weakness. I wondered why she wouldn’t want to skip the trudge even more than me. So I kept reading to see if I could unearth a clue.
As I continued things had reached a level of despair that was making me a bit squirmy. I was in my bed, with my husband sleeping next to me. (It is a gift that he can usually sleep with the lights on while I am reading myself to sleep). At this point, the events of the story had led to disillusionment in Ron, who had abandoned the epic trio while Hermione is trying her utmost to reassure Harry. But he, too, is questioning everything; the cryptic instructions that were given to him for the quest, the character of Dumbledore, and whether or not he has the strength or ability to defeat the enemy when the time comes.
As I was curled up and cozy under my quilt I found myself thinking, It’s OK, Harry. Keep going. You’re in a good story. You see, as one who has read the books several times, I have become the omniscient voice. The one who knows the beginning from the end and the victory that is coming. And then it struck me. With my head squished into my pillow and my husband breathing rhythmically beside me tears started rolling down my cheeks. I’m in a good story.
For the past year or so life has felt like a trudge. Pandemic. Trudge. Grief. Trudge. Disappointment. Trudge. Unanswered prayers- at least in the ways I was hoping. Trudge. But in that moment I am convinced that the Lord used this section of a book to remind me to pan out and look at the bird’s eye view of it all. As I look back over my life, God’s sovereign care is stamped everywhere. Even in the past two years, I could recount time after time of God’s unique provision to my family and me as well as in the lives of those around me. And as I read through the bible, there are endless promises that give me reason to believe that what has been true in the past will be true today, tomorrow, and for all the days God wishes to grant me on this earth.
I think this is why, subconsciously, we read and reread our favorite stories of epic quests; Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Harry Potter, and, ultimately, the one “true myth”, as C.S. Lewis calls the biblical narrative. Lewis had always been fascinated by ancient mythology, particularly the concept of the “dying and reviving god.” After great deliberation and the work of God in his life, Lewis came to see the gospel of Jesus Christ, foretold in the Old Testament and manifested in the New, as the one “True Myth”. For those who share this belief, the profound epicness of the bible becomes increasingly evident.
When Joseph is unfairly imprisoned, we are silently urging him to have hope. Good stuff is coming. When the Israelites are wandering the desert and they keep turning away from God, our hearts are crying No! Don’t do it! Don’t give up, you’re in a good story! When Thomas is in so much grief after Jesus was crucified he is isolated and without hope. We are saying Don’t despair, Thomas. He’s alive!
But as we are the all-knowing voice in other stories that we are familiar with, we also have a real omniscient voice, as well as actual omnipotent power, over our lives. The ultimate, almighty omniscient voice cheering us on. Christ is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)
As we look to the Captain of our faith who endured all things so that we could take part in His epic story, may we have the courage to endure to the end. May you “lift the drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees”(Hebrews 12:12).
For years my husband and I have referred to the months of January and February as The Doldrums. Christmas is over, the weather is usually cold and rainy or raining with cold. There is a long patch with no holidays or long weekends. And this year we even have the continuation of a pandemic and all the discouraging details that come along with it. Add to that whatever challenge you may have. Everyone has something extra. Something hard. Something that they would gladly skip over, skim, or fast forward if they had the power to do so.
It is my prayer for each one of us to pull back, take a breath, and remember that this, most certainly, is not the end of the story. Your pain is not a cruel joke for some random purposes. The cries of your heart are not ignored. The waiting is not forever.
Shortly after coming through the trudge of The Deathly Hallows I was driving with my daughter and told her how I had connected with this part of the book. How it had reminded me of the promises of God and that we are, ultimately, in a good story; an epic quest.
I heard her beside me say in a quiet voice, “Yes. That’s why I love it.” As I glanced at her and saw the look in her dark brown eyes I realized, yes, even though she doubts that she will ever get through “the trudge”, she did know. It just took me a lot longer. I’m in a good story. And so are you.
