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| Photo courtesy of boys4godmagazine.com. |
Our family has been eagerly awaiting the DVD release of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Needless to say, we had a movie night just hours after I purchased it at WalMart.
This time, when Lucy and Edmund go to Narnia, their cousin Eustace (Megan kept calling him "Useless" throughout the movie!) is brought with them. Due to his own greed and an evil spell, Eustace becomes a dragon. During his time as a dragon, Eustace finds that he is not, in fact, useless, but discovers an inner strength he never knew he had.
Eventually, once the battle is won, Eustace finds his dragon self face-to-face with Aslan, who with a great and mighty roar changes Eustace back into a boy. Take a peek at the conversation following the transformation...
Edmund: So what was it like...when Aslan changed you back?
Eustace: No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't do it myself. Then he came towards me. It sort of hurt, but it was a good pain. You know, like when you pull a thorn from your foot.
Is anyone else relating to this?!
My mind immediately ran to the dragons in my life: financial struggles of my own making that feel endless; the aching loneliness that still creeps up far too frequently; the selfishness that too often fills my head with "poor me" thoughts; the rude, angry, frustrated, impatient me that keeps sneaking out and lunging at my family just when I think she's finally gone for good...
When those dragons show up, I hate it. Hate. I know that fighting the dragons will make me stronger, but I still wish I could short-cut the process. So I try on my own. No matter how hard I try, I just can't do it myself.
I'm not a dragon slayer. God is.
But when He does His work to set me free from the dragons - to change me - it hurts. The transformation process is painful. It's a good pain, though, like when you pull a thorn out of your foot.
Eustace reminded me that there's a reason to keep hoping, even when it feels like God is hurting me.
What dragons are haunting you today?
Are you feeling the hurt of God's transformation?
I could have written this! Except, I couldn't have because you wrote it much better than I could have, but you know what I mean. This is my story too...just a little different.
ReplyDeleteIrritation towards my children is the dragon that's haunting me today. I don't like to feel that way because they're gifts from God's hand! And yes, the hurt of God's transformation...the guilt that rises within me is painful, but I'm so thankful that I feel the guilt and conviction so I can repent and make it right.