Prince Caspian

We should pay close attention to the things that make us cry, for there we
are not far from the heart of God or our own.

Fil Anderson

I went to see Prince Caspian at the cinema yesterday. It was a stunning and gripping film and although it wandered far away from the narrative of the book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. At the end of the final scene, as the Pevensie children emerge in an underground station in war-time London, I found tears streaming down my face. Less and less do I dismiss such tears as silly and more and more do I remember the above quote and ask myself what has resonated in my heart and brought tears?

How would it be to discover that you were really a king or queen, capable of great courage and leadership, to have witnessed and partaken in momentous events, to have been gifted with and earned authority and power, only to find yourself once again a school-child? I was filled with the sadness of a passing glory. If it were me, I would want to shout it out that I was no ordinary child, but a Queen of Narnia, that I had led troops in battle, that I was not what I seemed.

Reflecting more on this, I began to wonder if such self-belief, such personal authority, such tried and tested integrity would be a hoard of secret treasure, of internal resources and produce a deep sense of specialness. Perhaps if we knew what we truly were and were truly capable of, rather than regretting the passing of one adventure, we would be relishing the next in the ordinariness of our every-day lives.