Imagery and Awe

I have never been good at picking up deeper meanings, especially when it comes to pulling them out of literature. I haven't figured out yet if this gift for "seeing" things is something natural for some, and acquired by others, or if I'm hopeless and will forever have to be thankful for others in my life who offer their deep thoughts on deep subjects. My high school English teacher, Mrs. Susan Buck, quite possibly the most intelligent woman I have had the honor of meeting, is one who I endlessly admire for her ease in getting the nitty-gritty, fabulous underlying themes in ANYTHING. I learn something from her every single time I am around her. Well, I do tend to pat myself on the back a little every time I recognize myself "getting" imagery on my own, and though this example that will follow is probably grasped by everyone over the age of six who reads The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis, I wanted to share it here because it is so beautiful.

In the book, and if you have read it already, you will know what I am referring to (if not, PLEASE go read it, it's such a wonderful story! and the movie is coming out in a few months, so now is a good time to pick it up), Eustace has been transformed into a dragon because of a decision he made. He is miserable as a dragon, and has spent days being this way. No body knows what to do to help him and change him back, except One. Eustace comes across the Lion (he doesn't know that it's Aslan, or even Who Aslan is), and the Lion leads him to a well on the island. Eustace has pain in one of his legs, and talks about how much he desires to bathe it...

"The water was as clear as anything and I thought if I could get in there and bathe it would ease the pain in my leg. But the lion told me I must undress first.
...I was just going to say that I couldn't undress because I hadn't any clothes on when I suddenly thought that dragons are snaky sort of things and can cast their skins. Oh, of course, thought I, that's what the lion means. So I started scratching myself and my scales began coming off all over the place.

And Eustace continues to scratch deeper until a layer of his skin comes off. He thinks he is done, but after seeing his reflection in the well, realizes that there is another layer yet to come off... and another...

And I thought to myself, oh dear, how many skins have I got to take off? For I was longing to bathe my leg.
...Then the lion said "You will have to let me undress you." I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now.
The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off.
...Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off--just as I thought I'd done it myself the other three times, only they hadn't hurt--and there it was lying on the grass: only ever so much thicker, and darker, and more knobbly-looking than the others had been...then he caught hold of me...and threw me into the water. It smarted like anything, but only for a moment. After that it became perfectly delicious and as soon as I started swimming and splashing I found that all the pain had gone from my arm. And then I saw why. I had been turned into a boy again.

...After a bit the lion took me out and dressed me...in new clothes.

How beautiful a picture that is, of how the Lord Jesus saves us and redeems us! I understand that analogy of this truth almost better than any other I've heard. I can try and try to take my scales, anger, judgment, pride, ideals, fear, SIN, off myself...but the work will never be completed, because it was never meant for ME to complete. Jesus HAS to be the one to undress me. He alone knows the depth of my yuckiness, the depth of my failings, and He alone can take ALL of them off me.
Not only this truth alone, but another stood out to me: I was reminded that I didn't start out as a "dragon", and it was never God's intention for me to start out as a dragon. Because of sin I become a dragon, but who I REALLY am, a daughter of God, a saint, destined for greatness and life in eternity. And He knows that.

I had my #32 wisdom tooth extracted yesterday. It had been bothering me nonstop for about a week, and thankfully I was able to get a last minute appointment to have it taken out. The surgery was fine, a little painful, but, unfortunately, I passed out immediately following it's completion. Yes, I'm a wuss. :) They kept me in the office for about twenty minutes after, even put me on oxygen. And because of this, coupled with waiting for my parents to come pick me up--I wasn't quite feeling up to driving, as you might imagine--, and delaying in getting the pain meds, the local anesthesia began to wear off before I could take any preventative measures. I can't even express the excruciating pain that began surging through my whole head, and especially the right side of my jaw. Like a bomb had been planted in my skull and went off a dozen times in a row. I was in hysterics, crying and moaning, and BEGGING God to intervene on my behalf...and then, in the midst of this turmoil beyond anything I have ever experienced, it hit me. Jesus, my Jesus, my Savior, Love, and Life, experienced THIS pain, AND MORE. And I began to cry harder as, in the midst of that craziness, I met the Lord, and realized experiencially that HE CHOSE to go through the pain I was experiencing, and more and more and more and more...for ME. Wow. And after that, my cries weren't really so much for myself, but because I was struck with the magnitude of how much Jesus loves me. And I'm still reeling from this thought, and trying to remain in this place of AWE for my God, for my Jesus, and thanking Him for seeing me, not as the "Dragon" that I appear to be, but the beautiful little girl underneath, who will someday grow into a beautiful woman whose face is radiant and unashamed, single-heartedly serving her King who sacrificed SO much for her to have life.