A Year of Lessons

"'Child,' said Aslan, in a gentler voice than he had yet used, 'perhaps you do not see quite as well as you think. But the first step is to remember.'"

That line comes from The Silver Chair, the sixth installment of C.S. Lewis's famed Chronicles of Narnia book series. It's from the beginning of the book, right before Aslan gives Jill the Four Signs. Now, if you haven't read the Narnia books, and this one in particular, I'm not going to say anything more about it, but the series as a whole is absolutely amazing and I highly recommend you read them. Those books impacted my life and my view of God and Christianity more than normal people might be inclined to believe.

Anyway, I was thinking earlier today about all the things I've learned and all the ways I've grown over the past year. And despite the fact that I know that I'm different, that I've matured and grown, especially in my faith, I couldn't pinpoint the actual changes, or tell you any of the specific lessons I've learned, or how I learned them. I mean, some of them, sure, I could tell you all about the lessons like, "Don't leave your laundry in the washer for hours or your dorm-mates will get mad at you and move them," but the real lessons, the important ones, are a lot more difficult to describe to people who don't know me, or who didn't know me before. I can't really describe them at all, but I think people can see them, if not in major ways, in little ways. I know I can see them.

So why did I feel the need to include that quote? Well, I think Lewis is spot on. We don't see what happens/happened/is happening as well as we think. We never do. But we should still remember the things we've experienced. And we should remember the people we used to be, and the people we used to know and love. And maybe by remembering, we can be prepared for the future. Just a thought, as I pack my life up into suitcases and boxes and finally head home from the semester in just a few more days. :)