The Bronze Bow

So this has nothing to do with anything at all, but I thought I'd write it anyway. This has been one of my favorite books since the 6th grade, and for the first time in a long time after going to church this sunday I felt this urgent need to think long and hard about my relationship with my Savior. I'll admit, I've been semi inactive this year. Not on purpose, but with work it's been nothing short of tricky to attend more than every other week, and when I suddenly got the chance to start attending every week, it was hard to get back into the habit after 3 years of not doing so. Then school was thrown into the mix. After 22 years of being an extreme morning person, I discovered that I love sleep, and no longer have any desire to wake up early, or to care about doing so. Maybe my wisened age is catching up to me finally (j/k), or something else has happened, but for the life of me I cannot make myself wake up early any more, and I'm not sure if it's even possible to change at this point. Work before I switched to nights was impossible for me, and most people got very used to me coming in late, so I'm glad to have switched to nights where I'm not holding people back any more. I'm often late to school too, which is unfortunate, but I hope to at least conquer that hill. Regardless of all that, I can now make it to church at the horrendous hour of 9 am. However, out of habit and my newfound love of sleep, I have often slept through it, helped by the exhaustion work and school together bring. I'm far from the person I want to be, and even the person I once was, but every time I do make it to church, or make myself go to the meetings of friends once I sleep through my own, I start to remember just why I continue to live the principles my parents have taught me my whole life, even when I have ceased to pray and search like I should. Even when I feel alone and unhappy, I know that the further I retreat from the things I do mostly out of habit, the less happy and more lost I will be. What does any of this have to do with a book you ask?

In the midst of these thoughts I decided to pick up and read this book before school started in full force. It's a quick read, and I finished it in less than 24 hours, but it changed my mood dramatically. This particular book was read by my sixth grade teacher to my class. I'm pretty sure that today it wouldn't be allowed to be read to a classroom today, as the whole seperating religion from school has become more concentrated, but when it comes down to it, it's not really pushing religion, and it was not written by an LDS author, but it's about the goal of replacing hatred with love in the individual, as well as within a society, to gain a love and appreciation for everyone from all walks of life.

It's not directly about Jesus, but He is mentioned as it's about a Jewish boy in that time period, and Jesus does play a small but somewhat significant role in the boy's story. His father is crucified when he is small, his mother dies of grief not too long after, and his younger sister dissapears one night and is found at the grounds where the crucifictions take place, and from that point forward becomes introverted and afraid to come out of the house, and is said to be "possessed by demons" that make her fear the outside world and all the people it contains. They are cared for by his grandmother and he is bound as a blacksmith's apprentace, but runs away to the hills after being badly beaten by his master, and becomes part of a gang of bandits led by someone he believes to be the Messiah who will rid the Jewish lands of the plague that is the Roman soldiers. His grandmother ends up dying and he has to go back to take care of his sister, but throughout the whole story he ends up questioning himself and his actions in regards to this overwhelming hatred he has built up, and which has become the central point of his existance.

Like I said, Jesus doesn't play a huge role, at least directly, but I love the way He is portrayed in this story. I can't help but contrast it to the Jesus in some LDS books I've read, and I've noticed they're a lot more timid to put words into His mouth that have not been previously documented as having been said. But the way she depicts him and everything He says is so in tune with how I think He must be, that I just love reading this book. It has a childish element to it in the simplicity with which it's presented, and being a Newberry Award winner it's no wonder, as it is aimed towards a younger audience. I don't know, I just children's/adolescent literature for that reason. I feel similar things towards the Chronicles of Narnia and how perfect a personification (lionification?) Aslan is of God. Maybe it's because I've reverted to a state where I need baby food to understand instead of the prime rib that is the Gospel in full force, but I love how humble it makes me feel, as if I'm in the shoes of a child, and I love being reminded of how I felt back when I was more innocent, and welcoming towards all of the good things that church brought, and that made me feel happy and free.