The White Witch vs My Flame Wielding Angel

"There is in every person an inward sea, and in that sea there is an island and on that island there is an altar, and standing guard before that altar is 'the angel with the flaming sword.' Nothing can get by that angel to be placed upon the altar unless it has the mark of your inner authority. Nothing passes "the angel with the flaming sword" to be placed upon your altar unless it be a part of the fluid area of your consent.' This is your crucial link with the Eternal."

-an excerpt from With Head and Heart, an autobiography of Howard Thurman.

This weekend I took my Girl Scout troop to see the play adaptation of C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe at our local community dinner theater. One of our big sister Girl Scouts--Lindsey-- who has a major part in the play is moving away, so the girls were excited to see her perform. It was a bittersweet moment for me. This young women epitomizes the kind of faithful, passionate Christian I hope for our daughter, Selah to become. I had hoped and prayed that Lindsey would be in Selah's life longer, because she looks up to her so much. And she was a fantastic cheap, babysitter.

So we ate and watched. As the story unfolded I watched our girls faces. They were locked in. They cried when Aslan sacrificed himself, and they cheered when the White Witch died. 9Lindsey was the White Witch, but they didn't mind!) But what happened next held my heart. I saw their minds churn until it ignited a flame that I know-- we parents know-- has always been inside them, that is inside all of us.

It is an eternal flame. Once turned on we cannot help, but seek it. We hunt it. We thirst for it. No matter what we do or how far away we think we are that light finds us and warms our very core every time. It is unstoppable only if we disconnect, drift away and get lost.

And that drifting concerns me. As an artist, a mother and a creation of the Master Artist why do I see myself as a vase when He created me to be an azalea? Why am I fighting my guardian angel? When did I become the White Witch?

Continue reading "The White Witch vs My Flame Wielding Angel" »