: stormy waters

It’s official. It’s a hit. The movie adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s classic tale The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has received nearly universal praise from both movie goers and professional movie critics alike. What most people do not recognize is the time and circumstances of his life while writing his classic children’s tale. George Sayer, Lewis’s biographer, explains:”[Lewis] would have to leave his writing to care for his terminally ill lady friend Janie Moore. She would call him often to care for her needs even though there were a maid and a nurse in the house. Added to that challenge was his brother’s alcoholism and crushing financial obligations.”

In the midst of those circumstances, Lewis writes what Sayer calls, “books full of laughter that breathes forth joy.” He goes on to suggest that the brilliance of the Narnia series was not achieved in spite of being written under such stress, but because it was written in a situation of human suffering.

That raises an interesting question for our faith journey: What role does suffering play in deepening and/or dividing us from faith. Is it possible that a life with no difficulty can result in us being overly comfortable, complacent and/or apathetic in our faith?