Deathly Hallows

Yes. This is going to be that ridiculous Harry Potter allegory that you knew was coming & that I'll probably look back on and shake my head at. Come on, SOMEONE was bound to write this....

I'll go ahead and admit now that I'm an extreme fan. Let's just get that out in the open. I do indeed own a replica of Harry's wand, I have team shirts for Quidditch, I have my coin because I'm in Dumbledoore's Army, and I have read the series at least 4 times. Hey. Stop laughing. I may be a muggle but I know my magic. You don't wanna mess with me. Just kidding. (But really)..... 

Here's the thing I was really thinking about as I watched the epic conclusion to this incredible story. (And in case you dont know the ending to the story i should warn you that this is a spoiler alert!) As Harry, Ron, & Hermione are searching out & destroying all the pieces of Voldemort's soul which he's hidden in various objects, I realized something significant. The reason Voldemort was weakened and destroyed was because he had put himself into so many things. When choosing to do this, it becomes impossible to protect every part of yourself every moment. This gives your enemy a chance to find an unprotected piece of you and shoot his arrow (uh, wand,) straight at it. (Satan rarely aims his arrows at a protected part of us. He goes for the un-armored part.) How often do we throw a piece of ourselves at things-people-who will weaken and destroy us? It may sound extreme, but are we being careful to protect ourselves from all the things even that are considered "normal" in our society & culture today? Or do we go ahead with the un-necessary because we know how people will react if we don't?

Another thought. Let's take this a little bit deeper. One of the reasons Harry is successful & survives is because at a certain point he gives up on living. He stops trying to survive and maintain any kind of life or future and makes the decision to throw every ounce of himself into killing Voldemort. He seeks him out, stands before him, grabs him, and jumps off a cliff. He is willing to die to himself for what he knows is absolutely better. He doesn't know how it will end. He honestly thinks he'll die himself. But he becomes okay with that. Do u see the comparison here? Until we are willing to COMPLETELY die to ourself and just step off a cliff absolutely willing to just fall and have no control over the outcome, we are living in defeat. You wanna win? You wanna be that incredible, powerful, confident, secure, influential person? You wanna know Jesus with utter intimacy? Or do u want to be just like everybody else? It takes work to be different. A lot of it. U need to be okay with that. U need to be willing to die to yourself completely. Oh, but He is so worth it! I'm barely beginning to move over into the passenger seat and completely let go of the wheel. Let me tell you- NOTHING compares!