Gandalf Speaks Fire
A little appreciation for Gandalf
Gandalf has some of the BEST quotes in all film and book history.
That’s a statement of fact, not an opinion. *wink wink*
SPOILER ALERT
I’m a huge Tolkien fan, as is my husband. It’s actually how we met! Being such big fans, The Lord of the Rings film and book memes get exchanged between us on the regular, as well as quotes, Gandalf’s quotes being the most commonly shared.
I love so many of the characters in Tolkien’s works… Bilbo, Aragorn, Faramir, Samwise, Tom Bombadil, and so many more. But Gandalf sits at the top of the list and has since I was first introduced to Tolkien as a child, listening to my mom read The Hobbit aloud to me and my siblings. He’s such a wise, caring, and even funny old Istari. I always wanted to be called on an adventure by him!
Being a Christian, I can’t help but see the accidental, at first, analogies and Biblical references that Tolkien included in his works. He was a devout Roman Catholic, after all, and absolutely loved his faith.
The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion', to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism.
~ J.R.R. Tolkien in letter #142 to Robert Murray
People can now study his works in universities and obtain diplomas in his languages and lore, because of how in depth he dove into creating the multiple languages on which he built his lore. (YES! He wrote the languages FIRST and then thought “hmm, I wonder what sort of people would speak such a language”!) But most others just read and explore his works because of a love for his world and attention to detail. My husband and I are some such people.
Our shelves are full of his books and books referencing his works. Our wardrobes include many Tolkien-inspired attire. Some of our favourite gifts to give one another are Tolkien-related items (I calligraphed Arwen’s quote “It is mine to give to whom I will, like my heart”, framed it, and gifted it to him with the Evenstar necklace while we were long-distance; we gifted one another matching Aragorn themed tankard and goblet without knowing what we had bought for one another, etc). And we play The Lord of the Rings games online together and separately (our favourite game on our own, for a while, was Return to Moria on pc). And of course multiple times a year, we rewatch Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies (extended editions ONLY, if you know, you know!).
So, yes, we come back to Tolkien’s world over and over. I dare say on the daily. (We also both know almost all the lines for the films and I do a Gollum impression that he tries to provoke out of me randomly.)
But my favourite character to return to is Gandalf. I relate to his love of the Hobbits (hence why on Discord and TikTok you can find me as HannaHobbit), as well as his compassion for others, even Gollum. I understand his difficulty with the “Fool of a Took”, who took forever to figure out how to think through things before acting. And I still, at 31 years old, learn something new, or relearn things, when I hear Gandalf’s quotes.
The Time That is Given to Us
Every time Gandalf has these deep conversations (this one was with Frodo in Moria), I get weepy. Yes it could “just” be because I’m a super sensitive autistic girly but I’ve seen men cry over these films and books as well, so maybe it’s not just me.
The last time we watched The Fellowship of the Ring (part one of the trilogy), just a few days ago, I was struck by this quote yet again. This time it wasn’t about time management in the sense that my ADHD self struggles to comprehend, but about patience.
PATIENCE - the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.
Over and over in our lives we have to wait for this thing to happen or those things to take place before we can put xyz in order. Right now, one of those things for my husband and I is all the factors that play into buying a house. We are very grateful for the roof over our heads, while at the same time are very much aware of how cramped it is and how desperately we need more space and OUR OWN space, at that.
It’s all too easy to dwell in impatience at not being able to buy and move into our own house RIGHT NOW. It’s all too easy to lose hope because we can’t see all the little things that are progressing and happening, that God is making happen and putting in order so that this can happen for us one day.
FAITH - complete trust or confidence in someone or something
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
~ Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
And this is when I am reminded that we see all throughout the Bible that God makes His people wait, and that He rewards those who keep faith in Him and wait with patience. Because patience is actually HOW we handle ourselves in the waiting, not the waiting itself.
When you think about all the millions of things He has to put in order, within the construct of time, as well as outside the construct of time, it makes sense why we have to wait.
How many people does He have to work in and through? How many animals, bugs, weather changes, rocks, catastrophes, people’s exertion of their free will even when it’s not in line with His will, etc. He has to navigate because He refuses to take away, for even a split moment, ANY person’s free will?
It’s not for us to interfere. It’s for us to patiently wait in faith in Him.
Over and over in the Bible He tells us to be still, while He continues to work, non-stop, though we cannot see and do not know what He’s working on till after. And even then, we still don’t know all of what He had to move to bring us to the achievement for which we pray so hard.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;”
~ Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
In His defense, Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too am working.”
~ John 5:17 (NIV)
Trust me. He sees the tears. He sees your heart’s prayer when you cannot find the words. When you are in those moments, just say Jesus’s Name. It’s still a prayer in His Name, in the language of the soul, of the heart; the language only you and God know. (I wrote more on this topic in my journey of learning to become a Proverbs 31 wife, in my last Wifely Wednesday post.)
Part of my daily morning conversation with God is thanking Him that He is giving us another day, another chance, more time. The last conversation I have with Him before going to sleep includes the same. Because we don’t know for how long we get “time given to us”. And there is no use wasting the precious little time we have in this life, on complaining, wishing, or being bitter. Wisdom is in deciding to use the time given to us for good.
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
~ Proverbs 27:1 (NIV)
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)
Acts of Kindness and Love
My husband sent this quote to me recently, again, as well as shared it on his Facebook feed, and I had to comment exactly what it is… Not only is it a beautiful quote, but it also holds a ton of truth in it.
I am continuing writing this post months later and it is still a topic very near and dear to my heart. So much so that one of the gifts my husband gave me for my (early) birthday/anniversary/Christmas gifts was a Gandalf the Grey figurine from Weta Workshop. We found out that Gandalf, I mean Ian McKellen, has been approached for The Hunt for Gollum film, and he is still quoted regularly by both my husband and myself.
But back to the quote above from “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” film…
People tend to believe that they can keep evil from overtaking themselves or their lives by “power”… abilities, skills, talents, knowledge, even physical strength, each on their own. But it is not by any power we possess, for truthfully we have none but those which cause destruction. Whatever good we may perceive in one another is a glimpse of God working through a person. He, alone, is good and we are made in His image and likeness. Whatever goodness we are able to speak, act, show, or give is a connection with Him.
So then how is that acts of kindness and love can overpower evil, if we are not good of ourselves?
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
~ Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV - Jesus speaking)
Jesus calls us to come to Him where already are in our lives. He does not call us to remain as we are when we come to Him, but He does accept us and build us from where we are in the moment we come to Him. If all we know is to act good, then He will build on the heart posture surrounding those actions. He will give them meaning. Because He is, being God, goodness itself, He gives meaning to all things. He is love, so if we are acting in kindness and love, we are acting that way because of Him.
God brings about the change, we just sow the seeds.
He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
~ Mark 4:2-9
On the other side of this same coin, we know that our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces behind it all. Yet we see evil on every side, we face its consequences and influence everywhere we turn, even when we turn to ourselves. So we cannot just do nothing and leave the battle to only God, because evil attacks God indirectly; evil comes after us, God’s most precious creatures, so that he can take us from our Creator. Since he cannot kill God, he does all that he can to hurt Him, which is through attacking us.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
~ Ephesians 6:12
It is imperative, then, that we unite our hearts with God’s heart so that our actions may reflect His way: the way of kindness and love.
Death is Just Another Path
Ah beautiful Death! When we first find out about him, he terrifies us so much so that we often begin existing in fear of his clutches snatching us away at any moment, unknown until it’s too late. We tip-toe through life, never again truly living but rather just surviving each day with the ever foreboding doom lingering over our heads, ever before our eyes, our mind, our every thought, word, and action.
Yet our actions, thoughts, and words are all too often not with a delicate, respectful care for the preciousness of our little lives. No, instead we automatically adopt a careless despair, as if nothing, then, really matters and we should just do and think and speak in such ways that will make us feel as much comfort as possible. And that comfort we all too easily disguise and mistake for peace.
Why wonder at this? Are we not all human? Does not being human mean to be fallen and to need a saviour from our own folly? From our own naturally Tookish ways?
Death was not intended, by our Creator in our beginning, to befall us. It is only natural, then, that we should fear this end that seems so final. We cannot see past the physical world in which we live; all that is beyond - the spiritual world - is one on which we hope with faith, that is trust.
And we do trust. We hold onto faith that God’s promises will be fulfilled. We hope with trust that we will be rewarded, for our faith in Him, with eternal and perfect joy, peace, consolation, comfort, and even glory. Not because of what we do, but because we have trusted, we have had faith that His sacrifice on the cross paid the price for our offenses, that He is Lord of all. Death is now simply a part of the path that leads to His kingdom. It is the gateway. Everything leading up to that gateway comes to an end and the reward lies on the other side.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
~ Romans 6:23 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
~ John 3:16
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.
They will come in and go out, and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
“I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep.
So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.
Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd;
I know my sheep and my sheep know me—
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—
and I lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen.
I must bring them also.
They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.
I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.
This command I received from my Father.”
~ John 10:7-18