Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Harry Potter And The Story That Shaped Me

Currently on Facebook, people are posting about seven books for seven days, highlighting the books that shaped them in some way, without any explanation. In honor of that, my list is as follows:

The Bible, God
The Harry Potter series, JK Rowling
Love Does, Bob Goff
Small Great Things, Jodi Picoult
Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston
The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, CS Lewis

Let's be real for a minute. I had a REALLY hard time picking the last three. I felt like I was dishonoring other books by only picking these seven. A Child Called “It”, Night, The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, Horton Hears A Who, and all those Alice in Bibleland books. I love reading. I love getting engaged in a book and its characters. I love escaping to another world. Sometimes I think I might get too engaged. I was NOT ok for days after reading My Sister’s Keeper. There was a commercial that had something to do with bone marrow and I would sob as soon as it came on, and when I went to see the movie, I remember walking out and just being so MAD because they completely changed the ending.

But today isn't about My Sister's Keeper. And it's not about my list.
It is, however, about seven of the books that shaped me. Seven of the most important books in my life. Seven books encompassing one story. I was seven when the first book was published. My mom would read each of the books to me after they came out. It was one of my favorite things. Since then, I can't even tell you how many times I have read through the series, but I think this may be the first summer in a long time I haven't. Silly grad school.

The magic of Harry Potter isn't found in an 11-inch stick with the feather of a phoenix at its core. It's not found in an invisibility cloak or a time turner. It's not found in Veritaserum or Amortentia. It's not found in Thestrals, giant spiders or even House Elves.

The magic of Harry Potter is found in friendship. Friendship is a common theme throughout the entire series. Harry, Ron and Hermione show us the value of friendship. They show us that sometimes, friends get angry, sad and lonely. They show us the value of loyalty in friendship, especially through trials. How friends stand up for each other and true friendship is not easily broken. How the best friends share with each other in joy, sadness and everything in between. The trio taught us the value in being open to others and allowing room for other friendships. Stepping aside from just those three, Neville taught us the importance of standing up for what you believe in, even when it means standing up to your friend and getting petrified. Moony, Padfoot and Prongs taught us that friends will do anything to be together (I know, I know, technically Wormtail also illegally made himself an animagus but that is beside the point. I can't get over his betrayal - which is, unfortunately, also sometimes part of friendship). Also, side note. I am NOT endorsing any illegal or malicious activity to be with your friends. Silly and maybe a little mischievous at times, sure! But never illegal or malicious. Hedwig and Dobby taught us the power of loyalty in friendship. That's all I can say about them because I'm still completely broken, after all this time.

The magic of Harry Potter is found in overcoming prejudice. I was actually inspired to write this blog post because of this, and how it is displayed in the fourth book. If you know me much at all, you know I'm a huge fan. I'm a huge fan of inclusion, diversity and loving everyone no matter what. I'm a big fan of treating everyone as a child of God. No matter what their beliefs, no matter where they come from, no matter what their ability is and no matter what they have done. While most of this attitude I have toward people is rooted in the Bible and my faith, I cannot dismiss the lessons I learned from Harry Potter about the importance of unity in diversity. In the Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore says, “You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!" Sometimes it's hard to see past a person's outward appearance or where they came from to see who they truly are. We are too focused on the fact that they are a giant and that giants have a history of being vicious to notice that, while he is a giant, he wouldn't hurt a fly. He may, however, try and nurse a fly back to life. We are too focused on the fact that she is muggle born to notice her strengths. Dumbledore always tried to see the best in people. He always took those least likely to be noticed and appreciated and allowed them to thrive to their full potential.

The magic of Harry Potter is found in overcoming barriers to succeed. Although it was always a given that love would win over hate throughout the series, it never came easy. 1. The OG escape room: Fluffy, Devil's Snare, keys, a life-sized version of wizard's chess, potions and facing Voldemort for the first time. 2. Ginny stolen and a giant snake, plus murdering Tom Riddle’s diary. 3. Sirius. Helping Sirius escape. Stupid Wormtail. 4. The graveyard and Cedric. 5. The ministry. Sirius. I'm still not ok. 6. Finally fighting horcruxes. Dumbledore. 7. Every. Single. Scene. So many barriers. So much death. So much sadness. All to fight for good. All to see love win. The barriers aren't always an extreme battle or death. More often the barriers are fear and insecurity - the fear of judgment, of being alone or failure and the insecurities surrounding the thought of “I'm not good enough, not strong enough, not powerful enough, not enough.” We all face these barriers in our own lives, every day. Harry Potter shows us that we don't have to be afraid to take risks to succeed. As Christians we can apply this and be like Peter in the Bible and step out of the boat in order to walk on water, because we have faith that Jesus is standing there with us.

The magic of Harry Potter is found in learning. “When in doubt, go to the library.” Hermione is a girl after my own heart. With a fire for learning, she seeks out knowledge and loves books. Without Hermione and her endless knowledge, many of the battles would have been unsuccessful. Book knowledge is not the only type of learning we see. We see the desire to learn the truth. We see the that learning the truth can bring pain, because sometimes the truth distorts the positive way a role model is seen. It can bring pain in knowing you finally have a place to call home, but it’s gone before you can even blink. Knowledge of the truth can bring joy when you find out people loved you. They loved you enough to die for you and you just never knew it. I hope to never stop learning - in my faith, in my knowledge and about myself.

The magic of Harry Potter is found in family. It teaches us that family is not always blood. Family is simply the people who will never leave. Sirius wasn’t family to Harry by blood, but they sure loved each other like they were. Mrs. Weasley embraced Harry as her son and Hermione as her daughter, before they even married into the family. She loved them as if they were her own, took care of them as if they were her own and fought beside them as if they were her own. Harry Potter taught us that family fights for each other, sticks together and takes risks for one another. It shows us how family can hurt us, and friends can become family.

The magic of Harry Potter is found in individuality. Oh Luna. She is one of my favorite characters in the entire series because she doesn’t let anyone tell her who she should be. She is faced with criticism every day, and even known as Loony Luna. She never lets it get to her. She remains loyal and unique. She fights for truth, justice and love without wavering who she is. I desire to be like Luna in this. I have found myself so many times wanting to change who I am to please other people. I have found myself holding back and resisting being who I really am out of fear of judgment and persecution. I desire to be me. Entirely me. God made me this way, with intense emotion, compassion and passion. I desire to embrace that and just be me. I can be weird and I can be awkward but I’m me. Harry potter taught me to embrace the uniqueness in other people and look for their strengths. Dumbledore’s Army was full of people from different strengths, backgrounds and personalities. Each one individual and unique, but each one essential to the purpose and mission.

The magic of Harry Potter ultimately, is found in love. It is found in the realization that the power of love exceeds anything the imagination could come up with. It is found in self love and acceptance. It is found in sacrificial love, loving through the hurt and everlasting love. It is found in the knowledge that ultimately, love conquers evil and nothing can stop it.

Happee birthdae Harry, and happy birthday to JK Rowling, the woman who made the magic alive for me.

As always, love fiercely and love boldly.