The One In Which It All Ends

Last updated on: July 13, 2011 at 2:03 pm by Sarah Babbs

The One In Which It All Ends 2011-07-13T14:03:14-04:00 Sarah Babbs

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Yeah. Sorry for the dramatic title. The “It” to which I refer is Harry Potter, not the world, or my life, or anything like that.

It was the summer of 2003. I was working at a summer camp, and all around me, little girls in hats and shorts were carrying around huge books with blue covers. “What is this book?”, I thought to myself. It probably weighs as much as some of the girls do.

Then one of them handed to me, with a heave, and I saw the cover. A boy with messy black hair, glasses, and a lighting shaped scar on his forehead. Hmm, is this the elusive Harry Potter I’ve heard so much about? It was.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix had just come out, and it seemed every girl at camp was reading it. I felt left out.

So I mentioned to a few fellow counselors that I was interested in maybe checking out “this whole Harry Potter thing”. Little did I know that one of them was my “secret giver”. A tradition at camp whereby each counselor is the “secret giver” for another, and we would give little treats, small gifts, and thoughtful things for each other throughout the summer. At the last staff meeting of the summer, the secret giver would be revealed, and a gift would be given to your givee.

My giver was awesome and gave me paperback versions of Harry Potter books 1-4. I still have them, tattered as they are from being read several times each, and they remain one of the best gifts I’ve been given.

I devoured the first four books in a matter of about two weeks, and bought the fifth book as soon as I finished them. Where I had previously teased a college friend who was big into HP, I had become, seemingly overnight, a Potter-head.

There are several reasons I love Harry Potter. I was immediately drawn to this story because Harry’s parents died. My mother died. I can relate.

Harry always felt that he was different, that he did not belong. And the truth was, he didn’t belong. He was made for another world. So am I. The draw of fantasy worlds, where we fit perfectly, be they Narnia or Hogwarts, is that it stirs within our souls an eternal truth. We were not made for this world, east of Eden. Good fantasy stories remind us of this fact.

The stories are full of charm, romance, wit, and *gasp!* morality. No, the characters (even the good ones), do not always do what’s right. But neither do I, and frankly, characters without flaws are boring and un-realistic.

That aside, the overarching theme of this story is that good triumphs over evil. No matter how much suffering we encounter in our lives, choosing evil will never result in good. Stories like this are so needed in this world of “whatever works for you” morality.

As Albus Dumbledore says, “It is not our abilities that determine what we are, it is our choices.” The world needs to hear that! Children need to know that choices matter, and if they’re not hearing it from parents, hearing it from a loved book character might make it stick!

Reading these stories had a major impact on me. They made me remember the way I fell in love with reading as a child. The way I would sit under the covers with a flashlight in order to finish a new book, even though it was “lights out”.

Since that summer in 2003, there has been a new Harry Potter something every few years or so. But Friday night will be the last new Harry Potter “anything”, and while it’s so exciting I can hardly wait, it’s also sort of sad.

As the poster says, It all ends. Now I just have to remember to keep calm.And bring Kleenex.

Books

Culture

Various

Previous Post

July 8, 2011

7 Quick Takes -- Products!

Next Post

July 14, 2011 A Look Back

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 7 QT Beauty and Style Blogging Books Catholic Culture Family Funny Making House Poetry Social Justice The Children Uncategorized Various Women

Select a Month December 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 April 2018 December 2017 November 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 February 2016 January 2016 November 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz