The second installment in the C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia series hit the big screen over the weekend. Prince Caspian took over the number one spot on the box office list for its opening weekend, dethroning the comic book superhero Iron Man. While some Hollywood analysts are lamenting the fact that Prince Caspian didn’t pull in really big numbers, Walden Media and Disney aren’t too concerned because they figure it will have a long run in theaters. After all, it’s based on the classic book series for kids and we’re heading into a Memorial Day Weekend. Then there’s the long summer when many kids are simply looking for something to do.

The life lessons in Prince Caspian are many. It’s C.S. Lewis, and that was his whole plan while writing the children’s books. He was looking to present strong life lessons for kids, through the use of allegory, fantasy and story. Lewis was a master writer and an incredible storyteller. Of course the Chronicles of Narnia series have proven this fact as they’ve turned into not only a classic collection of stories, but have also set the tone for what other writers aim at when attempting to write a children’s series.

I must admit I leaned over to my wife about half way through the movie and said I really need to head back to the books and re-read them. It’s been a long time since I’ve read the entire Narnia series. I easily tracked The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe movie because the book is so popular. But, I’m sure like many people, the remaining books in the series become fuzzy simply because they weren’t as widely read. With Walden already in pre-production for the third Chronicles movie, I think it’s time to blow the dust off my book series at home.

But what about the lessons learned from Prince Caspian. As I already mentioned, there are many, but for me, one lesson really stood out. Many times as we journey through life we want to recreate a certain situation or event so life will continue to move forward smoothly. In the midst of this political season many are looking for a return to the Reagan era. Others want a Clinton era, and still others simply want an era of change. Whatever the case may be, all too often we try to make things the same, expecting life to work out just like it did in the past. Now, I’m not saying we can’t learn lessons from the past, but we must remember this is called a journey. What does a journey mean? We somehow keep moving forward.

With this in mind, the strong lesson in Prince Caspian comes as a recurring theme experienced by Lucy as she searches for Aslan. Her question is always, “Why have you not helped us like you did before?” Aslan responds by saying, “Because I never do things the same way twice.” Wow! What an incredible reminder that something “new” is always ready to “spring up” right before our eyes. The words of Aslan in Prince Caspian reminded me of the words from Isaiah which declare, “See, I am doing a new thing.” While the new thing may be a scary new reality, when we understand and learn lessons from the past, the new thing will always strengthen us through this journey we call life.

A Fellow Sojourner,

Dr. Rus