Fantasy Inspires
As I was thinking about all the things I could post about the Fantasy Genre and the reasons I love it, the one thing that always comes back to me is how much fantasy inspires me. Earlier in the month, I talked about some of the life lessons that fantasy stories have taught me, and I wanted to expound on that a bit more here.
Not everyone loves fantasy (*gasp!*) and that's okay. Even I branch out of my beloved favorite genre here and there to read things like... sci-fi, classics, meta-fiction, biographies, historical fiction, dog stories, and various other genres. But the thing that draws me back to fantasy over and over again is that it never ceases to inspire me in so many different ways. I return again and again, not as an escape from my everyday life, but so that I can glean a few more much-needed nuggets of wisdom or courage or perseverance or steadfastness to help me along the way in the mundane of the everyday.
The characters in fantasy books are often not your typical blockbuster hero-types. They generally start out rather humbly. Orphans, small folk who prefer simple lives, humble apprentices, random children, squires, bumbling caretakers... these are just a handful of the types of backgrounds you might find in a character destined for a heroic character arc in a fantasy novel. Of course, there are princes and princesses, too, but they often have major hardships to overcome: christenings gone wrong, cursed at birth, their kingdom stolen before they came of age, the 12th in a long line of older siblings with no chance to take the throne, distasteful arranged marriages, etc. etc. etc. Most fantasy novels feature a character who is in some way the underdog... and shows how they can overcome massive obstacles. And I must admit that I do have a soft spot for underdogs.
But despite their humble origins, fantasy characters also inspire greatness. Because they must overcome these enormous obstacles, their strength is often not measured in the size of their muscles, but rather in the size of their hearts. They possess a grit and determination to keep going, to put one foot in front of the other no matter what their circumstances. They are not fearless, but they are courageous. They keep going, keep holding on, keep trudging, keep fighting, keep believing... even when they are terrified, even when they have lost all hope. We were singing the song "It Is Well (With My Soul)" at church a few Sundays ago and it struck me that characters in fantasy often display exactly what that song is talking about:
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,When sorrows like sea billows rollWhatever my lot, thou hast taught me to sayIt is well, it is well, with my soul
It is wellWith my soulIt is well, it is well with my soul
"Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well, with my soul."
As a Christian, this is to be my mantra. No matter what the circumstances around me... it is well with my soul. No matter what fears I face, what trials I must endure... it is well with my soul.
I got some very discouraging and somewhat unnerving news a few weeks ago, that could easily have sent me into a tailspin of depression and moodiness. I could have pouted and sulked (and I'll admit, I did spend a few minutes there throwing myself a colossal-sized pity-party) but the words of this song and the picture it had painted in my head relating back to some of my favorite characters helped me turn from my own paltry strength to Christ's. I was reminded of what has already been done for me at the cross, and that anything I face in life... though it may be something I don't like and it may be scary, and I may need to ask for help because I can't do it on my own... is fleeting in comparison to the gift I have received through the Cross. If Frodo can cross Mordor, if Lucy can follow Aslan even when her siblings don't believe her, if Meg Wallace can stand firm in the face of IT and shout that she LOVES her brother, if Brant and Kamarie and Oraeyn can stand together in the face of an invading army... well, then I can handle my much smaller battles and perhaps even have a good attitude about them.