 |
| Bear Grizzly Animal - Free image on Pixabay |
*** This post contains
spoilers ***
In
The Monster in the Hollows, the third book in The Wingfeather Saga,
the Igiby family arrives in the Green Hollows, the childhood home of their
mother. The locals are wary of Tink (Kalmar) because he looks like a despised
Grey Fang. Only because of Nia’s invocation of Turalay, an old law, do
the locals allow Kalmar to stay in the town. If he harms anyone, the blame will
fall on his mother.
Added
to the challenges of adapting to village life are monstrous creatures called the
cloven, which are said to roam free in the wild as the terror of the
Hollowsfolk. One such creature, a bear, rambles near the Igiby’s house. Janner,
Kalmar, and Leeli all receive eerie visions about someone pursuing them, which
turns out to be the cloven bear.
Like Father, Like Son
Unbeknownst
to the children, Gnag had captured their father after the defeat of Anniera and
attempted to meld him into a bear. Just like Kalmar, their father (Esben) was
turned into a despised monster. Even though they had assumed he was dead, he
had been searching for them for years. The eerie visions they received of someone
finding them and holding them fast were from Esben, not Gnag. In love, he had
pursued them.
Only
Kalmar sympathized with the monstrous bear. No one else understood what it was
like to be trapped in the body of a Fang. Although it was dangerous, Kalmar
hunted local chickens and goats to take them to the bear, who was wounded. As
Janner noted, “Kalmar was the only person in all of the Hollows who would show
mercy to a cloven, because only he knew how a cloven felt: hungry, outcast, and
alone” (Peterson 263).
At
the end of the book, the great bear saves Nia and the children. However, he is
shot and mortally wounded. Janner, Kalmar, and Leeli finally get to meet their
father, but only for a short time before he dies. In life, he had loved and
pursued them, but his final act demonstrated his heart for his family. Esben quotes
the ancient and beautiful song, “My Love Has Gone Across
the Sea,” when he tells his children, “In death, my love, I
loved you best” (Peterson 323).
Strength in Weakness
In
the bittersweet moment before he dies, Esben addresses Kalmar, the future King
of Anniera. The bear-king looks at his young wolf-turned son and knows that he
has also suffered in his melded state. Kalmar laments his weakness, saying he
was not strong enough to resist the song of the ancient stones. Esben’s reply is full of fatherly compassion
and biblical truth:
“But it’s weakness that the Maker turns to strength. Your fur is why you alone loved a dying cloven. You alone in all the world knew my need and ministered to my wounds” (Peterson 322).
Since
Kalmar has experienced being a Fang, he can sympathize better with others who
are different and hurting, as he did with his cloven father. Esben even says,
“You’re more fit to be the king than I ever was” (Peterson 322). Kalmar’s lack
of strength to resist the melding had become an area of strength because he had
developed compassion and humility. His concern for others who had been forcibly
transformed into Fangs would serve him well for the events in the last book.
The Maker would use Kalmar’s weakness to make him into a benevolent king.
Scripture
also talks about how God uses our weaknesses for His glory. The Apostle Paul
prayed that the Lord would remove a painful “thorn” in his flesh. Each time he
asked, the Lord “said to me ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is
made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my
weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV).
Jesus’ strength was exalted in Paul’s weakness. Likewise, the Lord uses our
weakness for His glory.
Helping Others Because of
Personal Trials
Kalmar was able to help his wounded father because he
could relate to being misunderstood as a “monster.” Likewise, we can help
others because of personal struggles and trials we endure. God can use our
weaknesses to exalt Himself and demonstrate His strength. In the moments we
experience hardship and suffering, we can know that God will use those bad times
for His good. Like Paul, we can say “I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in
hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am
strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10, NIV).
In my life, I have experienced the pain and grief of
losing my dog and my mother in the same year. They died when I was nineteen
years old. Never in my life have I ever experienced such sorrow and pain. Only
because of Jesus was I able to make it through the rest of that year. Without
Him, I do not know what I would have done.
Grief is a dark time, but Jesus can use it for His good.
He helped me grow in Him and learn to depend on Him alone. Furthermore, I can relate
better to others who have lost loved ones. People who have never experienced
death do not yet know the overwhelming sense of loss and sorrow a person feels
when a loved one dies. I have seen people nod and recite words, assuring the
bereaved person that their loved one is with God and that they will see them
again. These people mean well, but they forget and fail to understand that
grief is not something you can wave away. Correct theology is vital, but in
times of grief, people often need someone who will sit and listen, or cry with
them. Jesus wept when His friend, Lazarus, died (John 11:35). Also, Scripture
tells us to mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15).
Death
is not natural. We were never supposed to die, but sin brought death into the world,
and we suffer its all-encompassing consequences (Genesis 2:17; Romans 5:12). Hearts
are broken, children lose parents, people lose spouses, individuals lose their friends, and their life can
never be the same again. Those who have experienced the pain of seeing a loved
one die know that it is not something you can wipe away with nice words.
Grieving individuals need people who understand, just as Esben needed his cloven
son who could understand his suffering.
Regardless of the pain we have experienced, God can use our hardships for His good. With His help, we can find strength in weakness.
Works
Cited
Peterson, Andrew. The
Wingfeather Saga: The Monster in the Hollows. WaterBrook, 2011.
The Bible. New
International Version. Zondervan, 2011. Bible Hub.
