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| The End of an EraDear Friend: Okay, I admit it: I’m having a hard time over the publication of book 7 of the Harry Potter series. I really geared up for this one. I re-read all six of the previous books. I pre-ordered my copy of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.” I was at the book store at midnight on the release date to collect it.
The problem, of course, is that my kids are the same age as Harry. I have a very clear memory of the family camping trip during which we first heard about “Hogwarts” and “quidditch.” A librarian friend who was with us was reading it to her partner and young son. We listened in and got curious. Lizz started reading the first book when she was 11 (as was Harry) and now that Harry is 17, so is Christina. Throughout these magic ten years we’ve read and discussed, speculated and pondered, argued and envisioned over the various themes and plot twists of the books. Lizz in particular has been significantly immersed in and influenced by the books. I am convinced that she chose her high school and her college at least in part because they suggested the potential for the kind of enchanting spaces, rich tradition and close-knit community that characterize the world of Harry Potter. I know she is not alone. She and her fellow first-year students no sooner got to college than they formed a quidditch league. They’ve been playing with great joy and enthusiasm for two years now. They wear robes and “ride” broomsticks. It does not seem to bother them that they never get too far from the ground. The final episodes in the series, in which the youthful characters reach maturity and adulthood, are serving to emphasize the fact that my children are grown up now too. Lizz is spending her junior year of college in Brazil. (By my way of reckoning, that’s a long way from home!) One year from now, Christina will be heading off for college. I rejoice in their accomplishments and independence. At the same time, it’s hard to let go. I am grateful for the way the books integrated Christian themes of love, trust, loyalty, friendship, service, and sacrifice in a way that is appealing to young imaginations. The message that love is the greatest power, and that death is not the end some people imagine it to be, comes out very strongly in the final book in the series. Some words of Jesus, that “where your treasure lies, there your heart will be also,” serve as a sort of epigram to book 7 and thus to the whole series. If my heart is a bit sad at this time of conclusion and transition, I guess it’s because my kids -- and your kids, and the entire world’s kids -- are such a great treasure. We are blessed that they’re not leaving us, they’re just growing up. Together with you as part of the body of Christ,
Pastor April |
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It was once I began to read book 7 that I started feeling distressed. “Maybe
I don’t want to read this after all,” I thought. “I’ve known these people for
years. I don’t really want this story to come to an end.” In spite of my
ambiguity, “not reading” wasn’t really an option. I was done in three days. The
emotional roller coaster has lasted considerably longer. 