What I Learned from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

What I Learned from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Picking up the Lord of the Rings trilogy I knew it would be daunting. Although I love reading fiction, I rarely, if ever, reread any book. What prompted me to do it was twofold. I wanted to have some kind of fiction book to read at night and knew I needed an uplifting and classic book to help me go to sleep. My mind needs to shut off and put away the many thoughts I’ve had in my day. Fiction helps me enter a world that isn’t my own. 

Another reason I decided to read it was because I read that one of my favorite preachers used to read this book every year with his wife. There is something about reading a story like that every year. A story that holds you captive. One that feels familiar and warm and exciting. A story where you know the ending is good but getting there is worth the trip again. Reading it again allowed me to see different things, appreciate even more the brilliance of Tolkien, and sparked in me the deep places in my soul to remember the goodness of God.  

I doubt I’ll read this series every year, but revisiting some of these classic novels with so much life behind me was such a good reminder. It helped me see my own life differently and reminded me of why God gives us stories. 

*Warning: Spoilers Ahead

One of the myriad of reasons God gives us stories is because we need to know the ending will be good and the journey is not wasted. All throughout the trilogy we find danger, grief, and loss. There are funny moments and serious moments. The friendships and enemies both from within and without weave back and forth between clever and thoughtful dialogue. 

The journey seems impossibly long and equally impossible to achieve. Take the Ring into the heart of the enemy and destroy it? How is that even going to happen? They start out on their journey and continue taking each step until we find Sam and Frodo on the edge of Mount Doom holding each other with fire and lava all around them. 

The point is not necessarily the end but the journey as well. I love how Tolkien takes us through the adventure based on settings. There is a reason he drew maps and they are included in each book. The story is led by places. Each new adventure, scene, and trial the characters find themselves in is based on a setting. 

Detours

I began to recognize that if a new setting was being introduced it was time for some action and possibly a new twist or turn. Of course I am thinking about my own life the whole time I am reading this. How God moves us places physically but also spiritually. We move in and out of people’s lives but also we are still on our path. I love the line from a song by the Faithful Project. Sung by Elli Holcumb, it says; “the detour is the road.” 

I can see that in the trilogy. Every detour the characters thought they had to endure was actually the road Tolkein was taking them on to provide what they needed. At one point Sam and Frodo must change the way they enter Mordor. They must go around the long way. And because they have to take the detour they meet Faramir. He gives them food, rest, and encouragement. After leaving Faramir the hobbits mention the food several times and it was their nourishment for the hard journey ahead. 

Like our own lives, we often see the detours as getting “off” the path. We wonder if maybe we made a misstep or if God looked away for a few minutes, leaving us lost. When in fact, God was leading the whole time. It was His sovereign plan that we take this road and find these people. What a comfort that the detours do not take us away from the plan God has for us, but they are an important part of that plan. 

Joy is Waiting

The other thing I think I gained from reading Toklien’s tale was the fact that joy is waiting. There is joy at the end of this book. The first time I read it in my twenties I will admit I didn’t like the ending. I felt it was shallow and a cheap way to end. This time, at age forty, I wept and wept at the end. It felt right and true. It felt like home. I thought, “Yes, this is what the end of my story will be too.” 

What is waiting for me at the end of my life? Maybe I’m asking that question more often because my life could very well be half over. I’ll tell you what is waiting for me: joy. The heartache I am facing today will make that joy even more beautiful. The hard things and the grief and loss we experience now, Paul says, doesn’t compare with the “weight of glory” that is coming to us at the end of life. 

The joy is made even more joyful because we’ve experienced pain and hardship. That is what the characters in the trilogy experienced. Their journey was long and dangerous and fraught with hardships. But the joy. The joy of the King returning. And the joy of the beautiful restored. The joy of right being made whole again. It was compounded because they had walked the long hard road to get there. 

So it is with us. The pain and heartache has a lot of purpose in our life. God is a God who doesn’t waste anything. One part of that is this life’s tears will water the ground to create a new life in heaven filled with the fragrance of joy for eternity. 

If you haven’t read the Lord of the Rings or have but it has been awhile, read the books! They are long but so worth your time. I figured any time NOT spent on my phone and reading instead is time well spent! 

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