Some of my most cherished and tender moments of my childhood are the memories of my mother reading aloud to me every night until early high school...I know...kind of a dorky thing to admit. But I thank my mother so much for instilling in me her love of books. She started reading the Chronicles of Narnia to my brothers years before I was able to join in. In the middle of her second go-round with these 7 books, I started listening along, Add to that, the fact that these books were borrowed from the public library (and therefore subject to limited availability) I first heard these stories in a scattered sequence.
As we made our grande western adventure, I bought a copy of all 7 books in one volume and dove into these stories with the eyes of an adult this time. And I cried. Again...feeling dorky...crying in a tent, reading books originally written for children I fell in love with these stories all over again.
So I would like to share some of my favorite quotes from these books that seem to embrace the kingdom Of God in a way that is rare in this world.
The Magician's Nephew
Aslan addressing Digory after he decided not to steal an apple that would have healed his mother:
"Understand then that it would have healed her; but not to your joy or hers. The day would have come when both you and she would have looked back and said it would have been better to die in that illness."
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
"OOh!" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."
"That you will dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver: "If there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking they're either braver most or else just silly."
"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King I tell you."
The Horse and his Boy
"Child," said the Lion," I am telling you your story, not hers. No one is told any story but their own."
Prince Caspian
"To know what would have happened, child?" said Aslan. "No. Nobody is ever told that."
"Oh dear," said Lucy.
"But anyone can find out what will happen," said Aslan. "If you go back to the others now, and wake them up; and tell them you have seen me again, and that you must all get up at once and follow me-what will happen? There is only one way of finding out."
"Will the others see you too?" asked Lucy.
"Certainly not at first," said Aslan. "Later on, it depends."
"But they won't believe me!" said Lucy.
"It doesn't matter," said Aslan.
"Oh dear, of dear," said Lucy. "And I was so pleased at finding you again. And I thought you'd let me stay. And I thought you'd frighten all the enemies away-like last time And now everything is going to be horrid."...
"Now child," said Alsan, when they had left the trees behnd them, "I will wait here. Go and wake the others and tell them to follow. If they will not, then you at least must follow me alone."
The Silver Chair
"Please, what task, Sir?" said Jill
"The task for which I called you and him here out of your own world."
"I was wondering-I mean- could there be some mistake? Because nobody ever called me and Scrubb you know. It was we who asked to come here. Scrubb waid we were to call to-Somebody- it was a name I wouldn't know-and perhaps the Somebody would let us in. And we did, and then we found the door open."
"You would not have called to me unless I would have been calling to you," said the Lion.
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