Harry Potter mania!

Last night I had the thrill of sharing in the Harry Potter excitement by attending the midnight showing of the new movie with a great friend and about 900 other crazy fans! I always enjoy going to that first midnight "preview" because you know that the people there are there because they are really BIG fans. They're always an animated and lively crowd - cheering, laughing together, dressing up, and just generally being fans. It was awesome, moving, and more than a little heartbreaking - the best movie yet according to my friend and I. But, man, am I tired! What drives me to do stuff like this? I'm just not that young anymore. 27 suddenly feels so old. So, today I'm living and at work by the grace of God, as well as with the help of a mocha frapp spiked with a shot of espresso and a countdown of the hours until I can get home and retreat to my warm, comfortable, and cozy bed. But, honestly, I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

I have to say that I've been very surprised by my own reaction to these books and the movies. I used to be one of those people who listened lazily to a preacher in a pulpit tell me that Harry Potter was evil and didn't even think to ever pick up one of the books for myself to see if what he said was remotely true. I think I thought that by even touching the books it would impart some evil to me that I didn't already have and that anyone who read them must be evil. In August, right around the time the most recent book was released in bookstores, God and a couple of friends saved me from the error of my ways and I picked up the first book just to see what all the hype could possibly be about. After finishing the first book, I proceeded to read the next four books in a matter of three weeks. I guess the whole "touching the books and becoming evil thing" went out the window pretty quick!

I admit I have become very attached to these fictional characters and I sometimes think that it could really NOT be a good thing for me. I live in the tension of wanting to enjoy the life God has given me and not idolizing the things He's given me to enjoy above Himself. I'm learning and fighting to keep this tension and embrace it rather than running from it. I know that God has spoken to me in many ways through these books as well as the Chronicles of Narnia - about Himself, about myself, about other people, the world, about struggling and perseverance, and about friendship, among many other things. I think the best gift God gave me in these books was the freedom to feel like a child again. Not that I necessarily stopped feeling like a child for any particular reason - it was just something that happened maybe over time. And, in reading both series' of books - Chronicles and Harry Potter, God reawakened a creativity and a passion that I thought I had given up on and cast away. And so in response, I want to know Him more and allow Him to use this creativity and passion for His purposes and dreams for the community he's placed me in as well as the world.

You're probably thinking - all that from a few books? Well, yeah.

So, today I want to thank God for Harry Potter and for reawakening the child in me. And, for my dear, great friend who persuaded me to give the books a chance and for joining me last night at midnight for a most unforgettable Harry Potter moment.