Wednesday, June 26, 2013

soul-gasp :: knowing Aslan

{via pinterest}
{over the next several weeks, maybe even months, i will be writing here and there from elora's thirty days of prompts. this is something that i have never done before, something raw and fresh and gorgeous and potentially painful. so please, be gentle with me. you can find all posts i have written from these prompts here}

:: what words make you gasp with the wonder of it all?

these words have been ringing in my head since the moment i read this prompt :: i'm going to live like a Narnian, even if there isn't any Narnia. and maybe it's a strange thing to associate with this particular prompt, but i couldn't help it. for you see, i've been brushing against this gasp-educing reality my entire life.  

for me, it's like that moment when they are gathered on the beach, breath bated and eyes wide, that first moment when they see over the wave. that moment when they catch their very first glimpse of Aslan's country. and oh, the hunger that is lit in their souls, even though they may not have understood it yet. 

// did they know they would end up there, one day, forever?
did they know they had just touched the sky?

elora's first words in the prompt were these :: what would happen if you wrote down everything -- every word, every syllable, every image -- that reminds you of the soul-splitting ecstasy of colliding with your purpose? and honestly, my very first memory of this soul-splitting gasp was the first time i met Aslan.

i've met Him a thousand times since then, even as i grew up and began to know Him by that other Name. and each time His roar has whispered Life into my soul, i knew instantly. and as i have dug deeper into the life-humming earth, still rich with His song steeped into its very essence, i have uncovered this strange beautiful wellspring...the one that hums warrioress, the one that murmurs braveheart lioness, joy shall be yours

{photo property of dramaticelegance}
and i feel silly even admitting just how deep my love for this word-made land goes. but i remember the first time i felt my soul gasp and i never want to forget. i wanted to live under every patch of blue sky i found because He was there, and the thistles in the pasture were White Witch traps. and yes, i was teased until i cried for running to the edge of the dock and gazing over the water at age ten and whispering His name. 

:: Aslan

and i didn't gasp then. but i do now. because even then, i saw Him. and my soul raised its eyes and reach out for the Lion and buried its fingers in His mane. 

// oh, i am gasping. and my soul is bursting.
because i saw Him, and i know Him, this Lion. 

and i am writing down each gasp, even if i think that this world is dark and full of reaching out fingers for a candle that might just be pretending to be the sun.

but i am going to dance in the moonlight with the Song making waves through my hair. and i am going to live endlessly like a Narnian. 



7 comments:

  1. Oh yes! I have been thinking along these lines since you shared Puddleglum's words with me. I love the image of you waiting for Aslan on the dock.

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  2. the world is dark...and only the words bring the light...and maybe our hands as we spread love...and let others know there is a hope beyond this world....dance on...smiles...

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  3. Oh to see the Lion and the Lamb...

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  4. I will fix up my Spare Oom and we shall have tea! Aslan is definitely on the move. No doubt about it.

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  5. I love this! So deep that it truly captures the purpose of the allegory that it was intended to be. I wish C.S. Lewis could read this and see what the power of his creative, imaginary words does to our hearts. Blessings to you! Love, Rachael @ Inking the Heart

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  6. Dear Rachael
    Tonight I would just love to curl up next to Aslan like Lucy loved doing! Just that warmth and gentle love of our Lord Jesus.
    Blessings XX
    Mia

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I look at you and see all the ways a soul can bruise, and I wish I could sink my hands into your flesh and light lanterns along your spine so you know there's nothing but light when I see you. :: Shinji Moon