The Hobbit

I'm sure you have heard there is a movie coming out of the story that preceded the Lord of the Rings. I am reading this story right now. Of course, it's The Hobbit. Poor Bilbo Baggins goes on an adventure. Something proper hobbits just don't do.  But Bilbo has some Took blood in him from his mother's side of the family and they were more prone to things like this.

Bilbo has traveled with his 13 dwarf companions through goblin territory, dark forests with huge spiders, and a treacherous mountain, home to a killer dragon . It seems that just when he thinks it can't get any worse, it does. All through his adventures Bilbo finds himself longing for the safety of his home. He feels completely out of place, especially at first, and wonders why he ever agreed to go on this horrid adventure.

It just dawned on me there is a reason I am reading this book right now. A reason beyond just wanting to have something to read before drifting off to sleep. I find myself relating to Bilbo in deep and mysterious ways. While at first I thought him a bit cowardly and stuffy for not wanting to go on an adventure, as the book progressed I found myself understanding his deep longing for the predictability and safety of home.

Now I probably need to explain that I consider myself a bit of an adventurer. At least when I was younger. Maybe not as much now that I am parenting three boys. They don't need me to model risk taking behavior, believe me! So, it's been a bit of a surprise to be experiencing this feeling of longing for the familiar, the predictable, or "home" if you will (but not in the literal sense as I do have a home).

I like new experiences. But I have discovered that I like them on MY terms. Not when they come upon you like spiders in the dark or creepy goblins. Like Bilbo, I really don't like feeling out of control of things. But, like it or not, that is often the stuff of this life is it not? We get thrown curve balls all the time. Control is merely an illusion we conjure up to make us feel better in the midst of chaos.

So, where is my "home", my safe place, my refuge (though I dare not say my place of predictability). Psalm 27:8 "My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me." And my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming."

until next time
...and the greatest of these is love