From the chronicles of motherhood...

Oh what a beautiful end to a movie! Have you seen The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader mom? If not, a must see for everyone young at heart! To tell you the plot of the movie would take too long, but I want to share some of the end with you. I know, normally you don’t want people to tell you the end of a movie. But please make an exception for me today. There is a moment in that end, that is too beautiful not to be shared with moms.

Almost at the end of the movie, a group of children consisting of Eustace, Lucy, Edmund and Caspian and a mouse by the name of Reepicheep arrive at a mysterious shore before a massive wave. Aslan appears and tells them that his country lies beyond, but if they go there they may never return. (Jesus…heaven…you get it.) They are all given the choice to cross the wave, but the children opt to go home for now. Prince Caspian, having had his father tragically taken from him at an early age, considers the offer for a moment. He stands there with one hand in the wave representing the curtain between the two lands, pondering if he would find his father there. Clearly this would be a more beautiful land. After a brief moment of hesitation he turns around and says: "I can't imagine my father would be very proud that I gave up what he died for. I spent too long wanting what was taken from me and not what was given. I was given a kingdom. People." And then he vows: "I promise to be a better king." Aslan responds with "You already are." He was King of Narnia now and he knew, he needed to stay and look after his people.

Hmmm. Sounds soooo familiar! I realize that I had one foot across in “Aslan’s land” during my cancer journey 3 years ago and I often pondered if I would find my family there. Especially my much loved grandfather. Clearly heaven would have been a better place. But I opted to fight and with God’s help, I stayed. The time to cross had not yet come. There is work to be done and for me too it is time to vow: I spent too long wanting what was taken from me and not what was given. I was given a kingdom. Two beautiful children. I promise to be a better mom. In my heart I hope that I already am. God has given me two beautiful children who are growing up to be warriors soon and He has asked me to look after them for now.

As a mom, there are many more scenes and people in that movie I can relate to. For example Eustace, a true complainer and grumbler at first, having succumbed to the temptation of greed and self-indulgence, was transformed into a dragon for a period of time. When Aslan brought him back to his rightful shape as a boy he admitted that he had fallen short in his relationship with his cousins. He felt that he might have been a better dragon than a boy. Much like him, I fear that I too have fallen short as a mom and at times have been somewhat of a dragon. If God hadn’t come towards me, I might have never made the transformation back from dragon to mom. But most of all I feel with Prince Caspian. 

Perhaps it is not a cancer journey you survived, perhaps it is something else. But I am sure we can all say that we need to vow, as Prince Caspian did, to look after what we've been given and try to be better moms. I trust you will have a good day in your Kingdom today! And if you are stressed out and there seems to be no "Aslan" in your life, allow me to tell you...He's there and He loves you!

Image courtesy of www.morguefile.com