My sister and I have been rereading my favorite book. I am not a big rereader (to my shame!) but this book has been my favorite since something like third grade and it never gets old. Alot of things have been happening in my life and through these incidents and this go round of rereading I'm coming into a greater understanding of God.
This book is called The Tale of Despereaux. Though I think everyone should read this book, this post is not entirely for that purpose, as some of you might think. "This story begins within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse." Despereaux, the mouse, is noble and honorable, in love with all things lovely, such as stained glass, knights in shining armor, chivalry, and the Princess Pea. The first few chapters are full of all such wonderful things. These chapters remind you of all that is good and green in this world.
After the initial section about Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo writes about a rat. She writes about the darkness of the dungeon, how ugly and evil it is. "It was quiet in an ominous way; it was quiet in the way of small frightening sounds...And then, too, there was the noise of the rats going about their buisness, their sharp tails hitting the stones of the dungeon and their long tails dragging behind them, through the blood and muck."
The rat, called Roscuro, was a typical rat. Dark and evil like his kind. A "black-souled rat". But one day, his soul was awakened by the light.
""...for it happened that when Roscuro was a very young rat, he came upon a great length of rope on the dungeon floor.
'Ah, what have we here?' said Roscuro.
Being a rat, he immediately began nibbling on the rope.
'Stop that,' boomed a voice, and a great hand came out of the darkness and picked the rat up by his tail and held him suspened upside down.
'Were you nibbling on Gregory's rope, rat?'
...And keeping Roscuro upside down, Gregory lit a match with the nail of his thumb, ssssstttttt, and then held the brilliant flame right in Roscuro's face.
'Ahhh,' said Roscuro. He pulled his head back, away from the light. But, alas, he did not close his eyes, and the flame exploded around him and danced inside of him.
...Roscuro sat on the dungeon floor...His heart was beating hard, and though the light had dissappeared, it danced, still, before the rat's eyes, even when he closed them.
'Light,' he said aloud. And then he whispered the word again. 'Light.'"
"From that moment forward, Roscuro showed an abnormal, inordinate interest in illumination of all sorts. He was always, in the darkness of the dungeon, on the lookout for the smallest glimmer, the tiniest shimmer. His rat soul longed inexplicably for it; he began to think that light was the only thing that gave life meaning, and he despaired that there was so little of it to be had."
In the story, Roscuro tells another rat about how "the meaning of life is light". The rat persuades him that light is not the answer, but watching the suffering of others is the answer. Later a prisoner is thrown into the dungeon. The light from the castle illuminates the dungeon for a few split seconds. A bloodred tablecloth is thrown down into the dungeon from above and floats in front of the light for a few seconds.
"He closed his eyes. He saw, again, the red cloth spinning against the backdrop of gold.
And he told himself, reader, that it was the cloth that he desired and not the light."
How many times do we do that? I do it often, not so blatantly sometimes, but in reading that phrase I feel such a pain in my heart for Roscuro. It's so sad to choose lesser things.
"What a disappointment it was! Looking at it, Roscuro knew that Botticelli was wrong. What Roscuro wanted, what he needed, was not the cloth, but the light that had shone behind it.
He wanted to be filled, flooded, blinded again with the light."
Filled, flooded, blinded again with the light. The light. The Light.
Then Jesus spoke again to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life." ~John 8:12
"Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me on magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You
To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your disciple in your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you, my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you" ~One Pure And Holy Passion by Passion
“All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.”
― Blaise Pascal
I am not perfect and I often stoop for the red tablecloth instead of the Light. But I'm realizing that the purpose and the fulfillment of my soul is found in the Light. I don't want to live my life half-filled. I am told I am "a feeler" and I have to agree. I thrive on strong emotions. Reading about Roscuro and the Light reminds me how much I want to be filled, flooded, blinded again with the light. I can't describe the feeling as well as Kate DiCamillo, but like Roscuro, my rat-soul longs inexplicably for light.
This book is called The Tale of Despereaux. Though I think everyone should read this book, this post is not entirely for that purpose, as some of you might think. "This story begins within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse." Despereaux, the mouse, is noble and honorable, in love with all things lovely, such as stained glass, knights in shining armor, chivalry, and the Princess Pea. The first few chapters are full of all such wonderful things. These chapters remind you of all that is good and green in this world.
After the initial section about Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo writes about a rat. She writes about the darkness of the dungeon, how ugly and evil it is. "It was quiet in an ominous way; it was quiet in the way of small frightening sounds...And then, too, there was the noise of the rats going about their buisness, their sharp tails hitting the stones of the dungeon and their long tails dragging behind them, through the blood and muck."
The rat, called Roscuro, was a typical rat. Dark and evil like his kind. A "black-souled rat". But one day, his soul was awakened by the light.
""...for it happened that when Roscuro was a very young rat, he came upon a great length of rope on the dungeon floor.
'Ah, what have we here?' said Roscuro.
Being a rat, he immediately began nibbling on the rope.
'Stop that,' boomed a voice, and a great hand came out of the darkness and picked the rat up by his tail and held him suspened upside down.
'Were you nibbling on Gregory's rope, rat?'
...And keeping Roscuro upside down, Gregory lit a match with the nail of his thumb, ssssstttttt, and then held the brilliant flame right in Roscuro's face.
'Ahhh,' said Roscuro. He pulled his head back, away from the light. But, alas, he did not close his eyes, and the flame exploded around him and danced inside of him.
...Roscuro sat on the dungeon floor...His heart was beating hard, and though the light had dissappeared, it danced, still, before the rat's eyes, even when he closed them.
'Light,' he said aloud. And then he whispered the word again. 'Light.'"
"From that moment forward, Roscuro showed an abnormal, inordinate interest in illumination of all sorts. He was always, in the darkness of the dungeon, on the lookout for the smallest glimmer, the tiniest shimmer. His rat soul longed inexplicably for it; he began to think that light was the only thing that gave life meaning, and he despaired that there was so little of it to be had."
In the story, Roscuro tells another rat about how "the meaning of life is light". The rat persuades him that light is not the answer, but watching the suffering of others is the answer. Later a prisoner is thrown into the dungeon. The light from the castle illuminates the dungeon for a few split seconds. A bloodred tablecloth is thrown down into the dungeon from above and floats in front of the light for a few seconds.
"He closed his eyes. He saw, again, the red cloth spinning against the backdrop of gold.
And he told himself, reader, that it was the cloth that he desired and not the light."
How many times do we do that? I do it often, not so blatantly sometimes, but in reading that phrase I feel such a pain in my heart for Roscuro. It's so sad to choose lesser things.
"What a disappointment it was! Looking at it, Roscuro knew that Botticelli was wrong. What Roscuro wanted, what he needed, was not the cloth, but the light that had shone behind it.
He wanted to be filled, flooded, blinded again with the light."
Filled, flooded, blinded again with the light. The light. The Light.
Then Jesus spoke again to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life." ~John 8:12
"Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me on magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You
To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your disciple in your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you, my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you" ~One Pure And Holy Passion by Passion
“All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.”
― Blaise Pascal
I am not perfect and I often stoop for the red tablecloth instead of the Light. But I'm realizing that the purpose and the fulfillment of my soul is found in the Light. I don't want to live my life half-filled. I am told I am "a feeler" and I have to agree. I thrive on strong emotions. Reading about Roscuro and the Light reminds me how much I want to be filled, flooded, blinded again with the light. I can't describe the feeling as well as Kate DiCamillo, but like Roscuro, my rat-soul longs inexplicably for light.
Lizzy, you are a beautiful writer. Really, I want everyone to read this. And, you are wise beyond your years. I'm amazed and inspired watching you grow in Jesus. You struggle, hard. but you're not afraid of struggle, you don't avoid it. You are fierce in your pursuit of the Light. <3
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