Thankful for Life, Lice, and Death

In 1892, a baby boy was born in South Africa. His parents named him John. When John was three years old, his mother and baby brother returned to their native England. John’s father was expected to join them a little later, but he died before he could be reunited with his family.  His father’s death would change the course of John’s life, as death always does. Death is God’s invisible rudder that steers decisions into destinations.

John’s mother would raise her sons with their grandparents and their aunt. John’s childhood was filled with exploring local hills, valleys and his aunt’s farm, Bag End. At twelve, the invisible rudder of death would change the course of his life yet again when John’s mother would die of Type 1 diabetes. John was raised by a priest who sent the young man to a boarding school. There John would make friends with fellow poetry lovers, forming a semisecret society with them.

World War 1 brought nearly a million casualties to Britain.  Imagine though, surviving when all your friends had not. John’s fate was sealed by…. lice.  John caught trench fever; a disease carried by the copious number of vermin feasting on the soldiers. John was sent to a hospital to recover and his entire battalion would be nearly entirely wiped out. His classmates from the secret society perished.

It is easy to value life, but what of death?  There is a bittersweet value to death, but in our grief and pain, we often run from the lessons that we could learn.

If John’s father had not died, his mother would not have brought him to play on his aunt’s farm. If John’s mother had not died, the priest would not have sent him to school to study poetry and literature. If John had not gotten gravely ill, he would have died on the battlefield with his fellow soldiers. He would not have become the prolific writer that we all know as J.R. R. Tolkien.

J. R. R. Tolkien would go on to create the beloved character Bilbo Baggins who lived in… Bag End. The Hobbit was published in 1937. Tolkien’s tale of a reluctant hero who joins a band of poetry singing dwarves sold 100 million copies, enchanting countless readers around the world.

It is a cruel trick the mind plays when someone we love dies and we believe we should have been able to save them. Torturing ourselves with the “If only” thoughts until we cause our body and soul self-harm. Eventually we stop fighting with God over His will and His plan and accept that in His infinite goodness, death’s rudder is never wasted. Eventually we find a way to honor those lost in order to give ourselves permission to truly live.

Tolkien’s secret society friends died upon far off battlefields, where he was helpless to save them. Voices forever silenced. In The Hobbit series, John breathes new life into them. The band of merry men have epic adventures, fighting evil to preserve good. The young men’s joyful camaraderie and their poetry are honored every time the books are read. Voices forever remembered.

“If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together… there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart… I’ll always be with you.”   Christopher Robin (Winnie the Pooh)

 *Winnie the Pooh author A.A. Milne also survived World War 1 due to lice.