For several years now my daughters didn't seem to age much. They were children. They would get taller and taller and more articulate, but they remained children. That seems to have changed overnight. I look at my two oldest daughters and think, "Did I miss something? When did this happen?" They are turning into young ladies - by the hour. I am exceedingly proud of them, but a little stressed out too. It's all happening so fast.
Well, Abby, my oldest (age 11) loves action stories, sports, science, space, and adventure. She has read the complete Chronicles of Narnia multiple times. She has been waiting patiently to get the "ok" from mom and dad to read The Lord of the Rings.
As you can see from my list of "Notable Favorite" books on the side panel of this blog, The Lord of the Rings is one of my faves.
Now, I realize that there are some Christians offended by the magical qualities of The Lord of the Rings - and I can understand that. But, it is such a wonderful story with such wonderful themes running through it - themes like sacrifice, courage, sin, good, evil, redemption, friendship and forgiveness. I love the picture of sin as portrayed by the ring. If you try to possess the ring it will end up possessing you. I love the picture of "burden bearing" as pictured through Frodo. Frodo has a burden that he alone must bear, but he is utterly helpless without his friends. They can encourage him, protect him, guide him, and take care of him but ultimately they cannot bear his burden for him. What a great picture of what Christian community is supposed to be as we help to carry one another's burdens. We cannot take the burden away, but we can encourage and protect and take care of one another so that we are not crushed by the burdens we bear.
Good stuff.
There are a whole lot of wonderful themes running through this story. Plus, there are some really good battle scenes.
So anyway, I decided that Abby was old enough to appreciate The Lord of the Rings. But, I wanted to experience it with her so we could talk through some of the issues. So, I decided to read it out loud to her. We are not very far into the first book, but it's been great - absolutely great.
I am sure there will be a day in the very near future when she won't be that excited to get into her p.j's and listen to dad read an exciting story. But, right now, she thinks it's pretty cool.
And so do I.
3 comments:
What a fun thing to do!! :)
I tagged you in my blog...I know you've been tagged before, but I just don't know enough bloggers!
I can;t think of a better way for Abby to enjoy the experience of reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time than with her dad! Enjoy the experince, you're making memories with her that she's sure to keep.
Reading LOTR out loud is the way that Ellen and I read it the first time, too. Although we failed to do so, I think your experience would be greatly enhanced by wearing a Gandalf hat while reading it. Abby could wear Orc teeth. It could be a great way to represent your Tolkien pride!
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