More messy in the middle

I watched Lord of the Rings #2: The Two Towers this afternoon. I had forgotten this amazing conversation.

This is an epic moment in the story. Frodo is ready to give up. His optimistic, good friend Sam steps in and encourages him.

Frodo: I can’t do this thing.

Sam: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are.

Sam: It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really matter. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you don’t want to know the end … because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was with so much bad happening?

Sam: But in the end, it’s only a passing thing. This shadow, even darkness will pass. But the day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer.

Sam: Those are the stories that stay with you. That man suffered. Even if he were too small to understand why.

Sam: I think Mr. Frodo that 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.

I revisited my thoughts from this morning on how the middle can be messy. It’s our confidence in God who superintends everything that empowers us to move forward through messiness.

Each day, we have a chance to be a story that stays with you. One of the ones that really matter.