A Long Journey, Fraught with Dangers, Toils, and Snares and Blessed with Loyal Companions
This spring, before my diagnosis, I had the urge to reread The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. In a marathon, I listened to all four books and am I ever grateful that I did. I have long been comforted and challenged by the themes in this work. The battle between good and evil. Hobbits who never looked for a calling being thrust into vital roles with impossible odds. Terrifying dangers. Long, exhausting ordeals. Glorious retreats for refreshment. Second breakfasts.
I was freshly finished with the series when my diagnosis came. and I have once more gathered great strength from the story. My journey doesn't include saving Middle Earth, but it does include the rest of the themes. In. So. Many. Ways.
"It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness, and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this Shadow. Even Darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it'll shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.
Frodo: What are we holding on to, Sam?
Sam: That there's some Good in this world, Mr. Frodo...and it's worth fighting for."
- J.R.R, Tolkien
- The Two Towers
And so I fight.
I'm on day 19 of the Tagrisso and I have seen improvement in my energy levels. I still struggle with dizziness and black outs and being wobbly on my feet. I feel like that hilarious reel that says, "I want to be a marshmallow. If I were a marshmallow, I would just wobble around....with joy." So if you see me around town (you probably won't) and I appear unsteady, I'm just practicing wobbling around with joy.
-Nanette
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"I wish it need not have happened in my time." (Frodo) "So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." (Gandalf)
Love you!! Tanya and James
So lovely. Be brave as you are being, and know you're in God's Hands. Thanks so for this post, it is encouraging and now I know I finally must read "The Hobbit", at this late age.
Happy Anniversary!
So, I’ve just now settled on including The Hobbit in my Brit Lit reading line-up. Thanks! 😊💕
Praying.
The way you write, Nan…so beautiful. This post has a statement, “Hobbits who never looked for a calling being thrust into vital roles with impossible odds” struck me so hard today. For those who seek roles, and hear their calling and others who don’t find it in them to help, assist, support, those callings, while others never longed for a calling and are thrust into them. The first sticks true to my own feelings, yet I see how difficult the latter could be as well.
And just like Frodo, who at times felt so alone and abandoned, he never was. Sam, Bilbo, Gandalf, and all the others were there fighting their own battles so Frodo could win the final one! Even though you may not see us, we are there fighting with you and for you with our prayers, our thoughts, our hope that once this battle is over life will be different but better for you!
I just finished those last month narrated by Andy Serkis!
Well, you’re definitely making me want to read the Lord of the rings! I feel rather embarrassed to share that I have never read them… Only watch the movies. I really only have taken to reading more as an adult. As a child I was mostly interested in fiction, but it was forbidden. :-) We are on our second trip through Narnia, but I’m thinking maybe the next should be “Lord of the Rings”.
Also, I absolutely love your description of being Marshmellow-like… Wobbling with joy.🥰 You are such a beautiful person whom I love.❤️
The above was written by Heidi J. 😊
Nan, thanks for sharing your journey with us and the references to Lord of the Rings! It's been
a while since I've watched them, it's time :) God's blessing be with you Nan, He will never leave you nor forsake you <3
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