The First Chapter
I love it when I learn new things! It's like a cliche bouquet of 12 long-stemmed red roses kind of love, and a I-have-a-date-on-a-Friday-night type of excitement. As a teacher who has seemingly taught the "same old things" in fourth grade for almost 5 years now, yeah, it's truly THAT fun and exciting to learn new things.
As you've probably already guessed, such a moment happened to me today - right in the middle of teaching my fourth grade kiddos a reading lesson.
The excitement of what I'm about to tell you may not hit you like a ton of bricks like it did with me (just ask my students... I was SO excited about this today....), but I do hope that it does make you at least stop and think. Specifically, think about God. His provision. His goodness. His sovereignty. And His insight to and precision in planning out the exact details of your everyday life.
Let me set the stage for you.....here's how it all started out: My class is currently reading through C. S. Lewis' 2nd book in the Narnia series titled, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."
To prepare for it, a few nights ago, I watched the movie with my dad. A few days ago, my kiddos and I introduced the book by discussing/sketching out the main characters in the book/movie. In short, in both the movie and the book, we highlighted the very sad fact that the White Witch made it always winter and never Christmas. (Pure craziness, right?!)
In the movie, (most of us know it quite well) the youngest of four, Lucy, finds her way to the fanciful world of Narnia and meets a Faun-friend named Mr. Tumnus. When you meet Mr. Tumnus, (if you're anything like me) you take note of some things: (in no particular order)
One, he is wearing a red scarf. Red is oftentimes a symbol or color of redemption, indicating something bad is going to happen. Then, something extraordinary is going to happen. Then, someone is going to be redeemed. The story is going to soon be over (or else, is it just beginning?), and you will not be the same person for watching it. Good times happen when you see a symbolic color of red in a story/movie.
Two, he is half-man, half-goat. Kinda odd. But he's in Narnia. No rules of "normalcy" apply here. Moving on...
Three, he is afraid of Lucy, the most innocent of creatures. Again, half-man. Looks like one. Doesn't have the courage it requires to truly be one.
Four, he is carrying an umbrella. In the snow. Different approach, indeed. Trendsetter, that Mr. Tumnus, he is.
Five, he is freezing. He probably does not have a mom, or else she was remiss in setting out his school clothes because he's not wearing a coat on this particular day. In fact, he's not even wearing a shirt. Yikes! Yet, it's snow-storming outside. Poor form, Mr. Tumnus. Poor form.
Six, (something I honestly never even thought twice about until today) he's carrying boxes or some type of packages when he meets Lucy.
Keep all of those thoughts (especially the last one) in your mind as we trail over to the book and the events of my day in class....
In the first chapter of the book, Mr. Tumnus' packages are described as "Christmas packages."
THERE IT IS.
(Did you miss it? If so, go back and read that statement again...)
It may not have sunk in yet.... go re-read it again. Here, I'll even retype it for you:
"In the first chapter of the book, Mr. Tumnus' packages are described as 'Christmas packages.'"
I don't know about you, buuuut.....when I read that today, it was a definitely LIGHT BULB MOMENT for me. SUDDENLY, EVERYTHING MADE SENSE.
To further explain, let me pose the question to you that I posed to my students today.... If Narnia is a land controlled/ruled by the White Witch, who makes it always winter and NEVER Christmas....... seriously, there wasn't a Christmas there in like 100+ years...
-THEN-
WHY IN THE WORLD was Mr. Tumnus carrying Christmas packages in the beginning of the story when he first meets Lucy?!?!
Anyone?
Anyone?
Yes, yes. I see that hand. I'll take you over there. (If you'll allow me to, I'll insert some answers my kiddos gave me in class today...)
Student: "Because Mr. Tumnus liked Christmas time anyway."
My response: "So he went against the laws of Narnia and went against the wicked White Witch just because he liked doing things his own way? I think Mr. Tumnus was too afraid to do something like that."
Student: "Because he knew Aslan was on the move, and things were about to change."
My response: "We know that, but did he? Hmm..."
Student: (shoulders shrug)
........Silence.......
Me: "Let's pause on the question for a second and look at what the author did here. He used a literary technique called 'foreshadowing.' Everyone say it with me 'foreshadowing.' Right, and foreshadowing is when an author gives us a hint of something that is to come. Here, the author is giving us a hint of something that is to come. We may know why Mr. Tumnus may seem to be carrying Christmas presents because we've read the book before, seen the movie before, and we know the ending. But, getting back to the question, why do you think Mr. Tumnus was carrying the Christmas presents? He didn't know the ending like we do...."
...............long.............semi-awkward............stares...........all eyes shift to ground............silence.............
Me: "Hope. He was carrying the packages because he had hope that he could one day use them. He didn't know the outcome, but he had faith. He knew he was prepared for the outcome, should it indeed turn out to his favor."
With all said, that's what I learned today.
Foreshadowing. Preparation. Hope.
They're more than just elements of a kid's story.
They're elements of our lives.
I don't know about you, but I have several current situations in my life that I don't know at all what their final outcomes look like.
Some situations may even look or currently feel like year-round winter with no chance of Christmas.
But can I encourage you with this thought?
Pick up your Christmas packages again.
Don't give up.
Continue to hope.
Today is not the end.
It's the first chapter.
Some things may not make sense now.
That's okay. They're not supposed to.
They're simply foreshadowing things to come.
Stick with the story and keep reading.
Whether you realize it at this point or not, Aslan is already on the move.
As you've probably already guessed, such a moment happened to me today - right in the middle of teaching my fourth grade kiddos a reading lesson.
The excitement of what I'm about to tell you may not hit you like a ton of bricks like it did with me (just ask my students... I was SO excited about this today....), but I do hope that it does make you at least stop and think. Specifically, think about God. His provision. His goodness. His sovereignty. And His insight to and precision in planning out the exact details of your everyday life.
Let me set the stage for you.....here's how it all started out: My class is currently reading through C. S. Lewis' 2nd book in the Narnia series titled, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."
To prepare for it, a few nights ago, I watched the movie with my dad. A few days ago, my kiddos and I introduced the book by discussing/sketching out the main characters in the book/movie. In short, in both the movie and the book, we highlighted the very sad fact that the White Witch made it always winter and never Christmas. (Pure craziness, right?!)
In the movie, (most of us know it quite well) the youngest of four, Lucy, finds her way to the fanciful world of Narnia and meets a Faun-friend named Mr. Tumnus. When you meet Mr. Tumnus, (if you're anything like me) you take note of some things: (in no particular order)
One, he is wearing a red scarf. Red is oftentimes a symbol or color of redemption, indicating something bad is going to happen. Then, something extraordinary is going to happen. Then, someone is going to be redeemed. The story is going to soon be over (or else, is it just beginning?), and you will not be the same person for watching it. Good times happen when you see a symbolic color of red in a story/movie.
Two, he is half-man, half-goat. Kinda odd. But he's in Narnia. No rules of "normalcy" apply here. Moving on...
Three, he is afraid of Lucy, the most innocent of creatures. Again, half-man. Looks like one. Doesn't have the courage it requires to truly be one.
Four, he is carrying an umbrella. In the snow. Different approach, indeed. Trendsetter, that Mr. Tumnus, he is.
Five, he is freezing. He probably does not have a mom, or else she was remiss in setting out his school clothes because he's not wearing a coat on this particular day. In fact, he's not even wearing a shirt. Yikes! Yet, it's snow-storming outside. Poor form, Mr. Tumnus. Poor form.
Six, (something I honestly never even thought twice about until today) he's carrying boxes or some type of packages when he meets Lucy.
Keep all of those thoughts (especially the last one) in your mind as we trail over to the book and the events of my day in class....
In the first chapter of the book, Mr. Tumnus' packages are described as "Christmas packages."
THERE IT IS.
(Did you miss it? If so, go back and read that statement again...)
It may not have sunk in yet.... go re-read it again. Here, I'll even retype it for you:
"In the first chapter of the book, Mr. Tumnus' packages are described as 'Christmas packages.'"
I don't know about you, buuuut.....when I read that today, it was a definitely LIGHT BULB MOMENT for me. SUDDENLY, EVERYTHING MADE SENSE.
To further explain, let me pose the question to you that I posed to my students today.... If Narnia is a land controlled/ruled by the White Witch, who makes it always winter and NEVER Christmas....... seriously, there wasn't a Christmas there in like 100+ years...
-THEN-
WHY IN THE WORLD was Mr. Tumnus carrying Christmas packages in the beginning of the story when he first meets Lucy?!?!
Anyone?
Anyone?
Yes, yes. I see that hand. I'll take you over there. (If you'll allow me to, I'll insert some answers my kiddos gave me in class today...)
Student: "Because Mr. Tumnus liked Christmas time anyway."
My response: "So he went against the laws of Narnia and went against the wicked White Witch just because he liked doing things his own way? I think Mr. Tumnus was too afraid to do something like that."
Student: "Because he knew Aslan was on the move, and things were about to change."
My response: "We know that, but did he? Hmm..."
Student: (shoulders shrug)
........Silence.......
Me: "Let's pause on the question for a second and look at what the author did here. He used a literary technique called 'foreshadowing.' Everyone say it with me 'foreshadowing.' Right, and foreshadowing is when an author gives us a hint of something that is to come. Here, the author is giving us a hint of something that is to come. We may know why Mr. Tumnus may seem to be carrying Christmas presents because we've read the book before, seen the movie before, and we know the ending. But, getting back to the question, why do you think Mr. Tumnus was carrying the Christmas presents? He didn't know the ending like we do...."
...............long.............semi-awkward............stares...........all eyes shift to ground............silence.............
Me: "Hope. He was carrying the packages because he had hope that he could one day use them. He didn't know the outcome, but he had faith. He knew he was prepared for the outcome, should it indeed turn out to his favor."
With all said, that's what I learned today.
Foreshadowing. Preparation. Hope.
They're more than just elements of a kid's story.
They're elements of our lives.
I don't know about you, but I have several current situations in my life that I don't know at all what their final outcomes look like.
Some situations may even look or currently feel like year-round winter with no chance of Christmas.
But can I encourage you with this thought?
Pick up your Christmas packages again.
Don't give up.
Continue to hope.
Today is not the end.
It's the first chapter.
Some things may not make sense now.
That's okay. They're not supposed to.
They're simply foreshadowing things to come.
Stick with the story and keep reading.
Whether you realize it at this point or not, Aslan is already on the move.
And now I've learned something today, too! Thanks. :)
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