Empowering Them to Slay Dragons
(I opened up Blogger for the first time in months and found this unpublished post. We've since finished reading aloud Narnia and moved on to the Green Ember series, and even though our kids have grown and matured I still wanted to post this.)
"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."--G.K. Chesterton...ish
"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."--G.K. Chesterton...ish
"Since it is so likely that they will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage."--C.S. Lewis
It's no secret to those who know our kids that they're all pretty sensitive when it comes to 'scary' moments in books and movies. This is particularly true for one child, whose identity shall remain nameless. This child cried at "The Little Prince" and in On the Banks of Plumb Creek when Laura almost drown in the river, s/he had to leave the room.
On one hand, I'm glad. I don't want my kids to become numb to this world by the time they're five. I want their hearts to be tender. On the other hand...they will eventually come face to face with the evil in this world. Also, family movie nights are more enjoyable when no one cries or complains of being scared. (The only two movies to achieve that status thus far? Piglet's Big Movie and The Boxcar Children.)
Until, that is, we began reading Narnia to the kids. We were unsure of how it would go, but someone (me) had been dreaming of reading the series together as a family since before we were married, so we dove in. We're about done with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and the change in the kids, particularly the aforementioned child, has been incredible. I'm pretty sure The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has been their favorite thus far (it's mine, too); it's still mentioned frequently and we find drawings of Aslan in sketch books and they fashion Peter's sword out of K'nex. Narnia is popular suggestion for Halloween costumes this year. (Update: Timmy was Peter, Benji was Reepicheep and it was awesome.) We made it through the movie with no tears and only a few requests to turn it off (we powered through. And I gotta say--the movie was made way more dramatic than necessary.)
Were they scared the White Witch would hurt Edmond? Yes. Did Aslan's death make them sad? Of course. But throughout the book we kept reminding them that evil doesn't win. Aslan wins. Aslan always wins. Just like God always wins. I've seen my kids (mostly the older boys) embrace lions and swords, yes, but more importantly, I hope they've gained courage to fight for what is right and to remember that in the end, truth will win.
Until, that is, we began reading Narnia to the kids. We were unsure of how it would go, but someone (me) had been dreaming of reading the series together as a family since before we were married, so we dove in. We're about done with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and the change in the kids, particularly the aforementioned child, has been incredible. I'm pretty sure The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has been their favorite thus far (it's mine, too); it's still mentioned frequently and we find drawings of Aslan in sketch books and they fashion Peter's sword out of K'nex. Narnia is popular suggestion for Halloween costumes this year. (Update: Timmy was Peter, Benji was Reepicheep and it was awesome.) We made it through the movie with no tears and only a few requests to turn it off (we powered through. And I gotta say--the movie was made way more dramatic than necessary.)
Were they scared the White Witch would hurt Edmond? Yes. Did Aslan's death make them sad? Of course. But throughout the book we kept reminding them that evil doesn't win. Aslan wins. Aslan always wins. Just like God always wins. I've seen my kids (mostly the older boys) embrace lions and swords, yes, but more importantly, I hope they've gained courage to fight for what is right and to remember that in the end, truth will win.
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