A brief, one-sided reflection of Hobbit Day

Holly: In the spirit of Hobbit Day (September 22nd, Bilbo and Frodo's birthday), with the seasons turning, cooler weather approaching, The Return of the King complete recordings playing, me halfway through Fellowship of the Ring, I feel compelled to write.

I wrote in my journal not too long ago about Lord of the Rings, Tolkien himself, and what this world, this Middle Earth, has done for me and my life.  I won't divulge entirely in the details, although I may post the entire entry at some future date, but I noted that I think, through my journey to Middle Earth, through both film and book, that I feel I have drawn closer to God as a result.  I feel at peace when I think of the hobbits I so relate to, of the wondrous descriptions of all the splendors Middle Earth has to offer.  They taught me to trust, to love, to feel unabashedly.  I draw strength from the music and from the books, and I thank God for this.  He has put people in my life who love Tolkien and his world, and who introduced myself to it.  I thank God because He knows how to speak to His children.  I thank God for Tolkien, who was inspired to bring Middle Earth to life, a world that gives so many people hope, even so many years after his passing.  I hope to someday pay my respects to Tolkien.

I think of the chaotic week that lies before me, and I have prayed fervently, and I know others have done the same for me.  But as Sam so eloquently says "Even darkness must pass."  And as I continue on my reading, my complete recordings listening, the open windows of my apartment letting in the cool of the day, the birds all about, the sun shining in and providing warmth to my cats, I think of what Frodo went through, what Bilbo went through, what I've gone through and what God has brought me through.  I'm not where I want to be, but I'm not where I used to be.  For today, I choose to just be.  To just be absorbed in my own little piece of Middle Earth, to celebrate 2 hobbits I dearly cherish.  "Even darkness must pass.  A new day will come.  And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."

"We may stand, if only on one leg, or at least be left still upon our knees."