Welcome to Narnia

So part of living in a tiny country at the bottom of the world is that you don't get movies as quick as the rest of the world. And after living in LA, where the movies came out before other places some times, this is always a bit of a bummer. But FINALLY, Narnia, Prince Caspian, came out here. Funny thing is that it came out in Figi three or four weeks before NZ even! Nonetheless, it is here and I went and saw it this week.

I loved the movie!! I hadn't read the other books except for The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe, so I had no idea what to expect....except for one part. If you have seen the movie, the place the kids go right when they step into Narnia is exactly what I stepped into when I stepped off the plane in NZ. It is the most breathtaking place I have ever seen, and to be quite honest I don't think the movie did it justice! I added the trailer just so you can see where I get to live:)

I was thinking of the irony of that this morning. I was thinking about my Narnia moments here. There has been so many times I have been walking through somewhere completely normal, and yet have felt like I was in this parallel universe. Yesterday, at the grocery store I had that weird feeling again...I really live in a different country and the most weird moments are these. Moments, when you are doing the average, ordinary every day things, yet you know that it isn't just normal. As I think about my experience in NZ, I can never thank the couple that invited me out here enough. They were like the "wardrobe" for this season of my life.

And as I watched this movie this week with some friends, I saw some parallel's in my own life. My friend, Glen, told me I am like the grown up version of Lucy. I am going to take that as a compliment :) Lucy has so much faith in what she is experiencing and what she is learning about people, life circumstances, and Aslan. There is one scene where Lucy knows the way to go, but she let's her siblings convince her she can't possibly be right because it doesn't look like it will work, and they seemed to have a better idea. She went a long with it and in the end they were stopped and ended up back at the beginning. Ironically though, when Lucy gets to try again it really did seem impossible. But as she turned around knowing that she could trust Aslan, she slipped and feel through a hole and ended up finding the way. It wasn't easy and led to many more battles and hard experiences, but it was the only way they could get to where they were going.

So many times for me I know the way to go, but look at the impossibilities and/or the pain and hardship involved. To be honest, mostly I look at the pain/hardships and decide it couldn't possibly be the right way, but often it is. The most comforting thing though is that Lucy wasn't all that confident, she just knew something in her gut and as she actually fell, which looked like to her death, yet that is when she found the way to go. Sometimes, my life feels like that. When my life seems to be spinning a bit out of control, is typically when I land in a new path or a new place. But the path isn't always the end goal. It is the journey to the path, and sometimes the best part and most learning is the great fall to the new path. In the movie, there is one point that only Lucy can go where they need her to...she is the least likely but the one that is sent and received by Aslan. But in the midst of it Lucy learns so much, and sees things that the others could only dream of seeing and experiencing.

My time here has reminded me of that. There have been some Narnia forest moments here, but there have been some incredible moments that have taken my breath away--some of those moments, people have been a part of, and some of those moments have been very personal and internal. Nonetheless, it has been worth it. If I end up having to go back to the States, it might feel much like traveling back through the wardrobe or the train in Prince Caspian...(and landing at LAX--so the opposite of paradise!) The memories and moments and friends here unforgetable, like a good movie...