{"id":1271,"date":"2021-12-29T08:38:29","date_gmt":"2021-12-29T13:38:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=1271"},"modified":"2021-12-29T08:38:29","modified_gmt":"2021-12-29T13:38:29","slug":"surprised-by-grace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2021\/12\/29\/surprised-by-grace\/","title":{"rendered":"Surprised by Grace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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(c) New Line Cinema<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So why didn\u2019t Sam and Frodo just fly <\/em>to Mordor on the backs of the eagles, since that\u2019s how they were ultimately rescued?

OK, let\u2019s back up. 

In case you haven\u2019t read the monumental Lord of the Rings <\/em>saga, or seen their Oscar-winning film depictions, the central storyline of J.R.R. Tolkien\u2019s epic tale involves the humblest of creatures \u2013 a diminutive hobbit named Frodo Baggins \u2013 carrying the Ring of Power directly into Mordor, the post-apocalyptic heartland of evil. 

Frodo\u2019s impossible mission is to travel on foot for nearly a year \u2013 accompanied by his hobbit friend Samwise Gamgee \u2013 and to destroy the Ring by dropping it into one of the volcanic crevasses of Mount Doom. 

Arrayed against them are armies of orcs, goblins, trolls, and sorcerers.  Somehow, against all odds, they succeed \u2013 only to find themselves marooned on the flanks of the erupting volcano, awaiting certain death.

That\u2019s when Tolkien sends in the eagles.  They pluck the hobbits from the rocks and carry them away to safety.

Even some of Tolkien\u2019s biggest fans have found this dramatic rescue to be a head-scratcher.  As in, \u201cWhy didn\u2019t Frodo and Sam just hitch a ride on the eagles in the first place?\u201d  They could have flown directly to Mount Doom, dropped the ring into the lava from a safe altitude, and even arrived back home in time for dinner, avoiding a considerable amount of wear and tear on their hobbit feet.  

Did Tolkien accidentally leave a hole in the plot of The Lord of the Rings<\/em> large enough to accommodate a herd of oliphaunts?

Hardly. 

The eagles appear out the blue from time to time in Tolkien\u2019s elaborate stories.  They swoop in to rescue those who are in direst need.  But they never materialize as if they are on retainer.  They follow no one\u2019s schedule.  They aren\u2019t the Middle Earth version of Southwest Airlines:  just buy a ticket and you can fly anywhere you want.

It\u2019s more accurate to see the eagles as something like divine intervention.  The heroes have tried everything within their own power.  Their efforts have fallen short.  All is lost.

Then suddenly, and seemingly out of nowhere, grace arrives.  And all is found.

Tolkien himself had a term for such an unexpected happy ending.  He called it a eucatastrophe, <\/em>a disaster that becomes a blessing because God was present and at work all along, even though out of sight.

Even more important is what happens to Frodo and Sam during their quest.  They have to face their own fears.  Stand up to evil.  Resolve conflicts that threaten to unravel their friendship.  Decide to keep going, even when they no longer have the strength to keep going. 

It is the forging of their character \u2013 which would have been impossible apart from their struggles \u2013 that seemingly matters just as much as the accomplishment of their mission.

This may be one of the toughest seasons of life you have ever experienced.  It may feel as if you have come to the end of your own resources. 

Don\u2019t despair. 

At a time and a place of God\u2019s own choosing, the eagles are coming.
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So why didn\u2019t Sam and Frodo just fly to Mordor on the backs of the eagles, since that\u2019s how they were ultimately rescued? OK, let\u2019s back up.  In case you haven\u2019t read the monumental Lord of the Rings saga, or seen their Oscar-winning film depictions, the central storyline of J.R.R. Tolkien\u2019s epic tale involves the humblest of creatures \u2013 a… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1272,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[101],"class_list":["post-1271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-grace"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1271"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1273,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271\/revisions\/1273"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}