A far green country
I finally took Ben to see Return of the King last Sunday night. He was excited, to say the least. Now, all family members (who care) have seen it, I think. I was inspired again by Gandalf’s description of their (our?) afterlife — referenced here in a TownHall.com column by Chuck Colson last December:
Another instance of Tolkien’s faith coming through occurs in an exchange between Pippin, one of the hobbits, and Gandalf, the wizard. Hours before a battle in which he is sure he will die, Pippin tells Gandalf that he “never thought it would end like this.”
Gandalf replies, “End? No, the journey doesn’t end here. There’s another path we all must take. The gray rain curtain of this world rolls back, and it will change to the silver clouds, and then you see it.” When Pippin asks, “See what?” Gandalf replies, “White shores and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.” Gandalf’s words, with a vivid picture of heaven, comfort Pippin as he contemplates battle and possible death.
I think that last sentence from Gandalf may be a good blog tagline, perhaps something to design around. Either way, I thought it was inspiring.