Growing With My Garden

In a letter dated Feb. 26, 1936, to his close friend Arthur Greeves, C. S. Lewis writes: I have just read what I think a really great book, “The Place of the Lion” by Charles Williams.  It is based on the Platonic theory of the other world in which the archetypes of all earthly qualities exist: and in the novel, owing to a bit of machinery which doesn’t matter, these archetypes start sucking our world back.  The lion of strength appears in the world & the strength starts going out of houses and things into him.  The archetypal butterfly (enormous) appears and all the butterflies of the world fly back into him.   But man continues and ought to be able to rule all these forces: and there is one man in the book who does, and the story ends with him as a second Adam ‘naming the beasts’ and establishing dominion over them. It is not only a most exciting fantasy, but a deeply religious and (unobtrusively) a profoundly learned book.  The reading of it ...

 Dear Friends,                                                                                                  Alas, the Christmas season has come around again.  We are thankful to say Dorothy and I are in good health for our 88 years and have comfortable living conditions in our retirement center.  Due to Covid-19, the rules insisting upon the isolation for everyone here are very strict, but in our old age we are fairly content to stay put (and take long naps!).  One of the remarkable aspects of the truly Christian life is that one can know joy and peace in all circumstances.  We are living during difficult times the world over, and our hearts ache for all who are suffering.  One may think of the many Biblical ...

  The text shows us Falconer’s activities among the poor and care worn in the slum districts of London.  MacDonald himself had a large concern for the poor, and as Robert explains his  philosophy to a would-be helper, we have a good  paragraph summarizing MacDonald’s own: " I avoid all attempt at organization.  What I want is simply to be a friend of the poor. . . . I do not preach or set about to institute a program . . . I go where I am led. . . . The worst thing you can do is to attempt to save the needy to whom you are sent from the natural consequences of wrong, although you may sometimes help them out of them.  But it is right to do many things for them when you know them, which would not help if you did not. . . .  In my labour I am content to do the thing that lies next to me.  I await events."   The activities that follow illustrate how these principles work as they are practiced among the lower-class areas of London.  ...

 Do you have any desires as to what we should read next?  There are several other fine MacDonald novels, such as Malcolm or Donal Grant, I would enjoy reading with you.  Or what about Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, a novel of Williams, or some of Chesterton's essays?  Please let me know.  I enjoy doing this only if I have fellow readers.

Robert returns after spending four years in Europe, having acquired a good grasp of the essence of the ideal Christian life: “. . . doing righteously, loving mercy, and walking humbly,” trusting God.   Dr Anderson suggests Robert attend medical classes for a couple years, while Shagar goes to India in the army and matures into a gentleman there.  They then go to London together, where they meet Shagar’s mother, who says she has seen Robert’s father. Robert searches for him through London, becoming well-acquainted with the poorer sections of the city, and ministers to the people, always looking for his father.  Dr. Anderson, who is dying, recalls him to London, wills to him all his means, then passes away. Robert visits his grannie in Rothieden, and in an extended conversation with her he explains to her the errors in her theological thinking in a loving way that convinces her.  The conversation contained in Chapter 47 is a splendid summary of MacDonald’s o...

These chapters show the working of Providence in Robert’s life, slowly making him to become the model of the ideal Christian.  Dr Anderson plays an important role as he takes an ongoing interest in Robert, Ericson,  and Shargar. He decides  to will his money to Robert after his demise, and provides for Shargar-- rightly called George Moray--to be enrolled in grammar school, where he does very well.    When Ericson is better, he and Robert go to visit the Lindsays, and there they meet Lindsay’s daughter Mysie.  Mysie is described as naive, imaginative, and vulnerable.  Later, the Baron of Rothie calls, and Mysie is much impressed by his outer appearance, but fails to perceive his real being. At the end of the school session, Robert and Ericson return to Rothieden, making their way through a storm, catching a ride on a coach, meeting Miss St. John, and spending a night in an abandoned home.    Back in Rothieden, Robert has a series of...

  This week’s reading shows how the various experiences of  Robert’s life–both joyous and painful, all contribute to his spiritual becoming.  After his emotions are exhilarated by his entering Mary St. John’s room and receiving her instructions on the piano, they are  crushed by the horrifying discovery that his grannie had the passage to Mary’s room walled over, so that he no longer could  access those blissful sessions.  Both experiences contribute to his growth. Robert decides  to cast himself upon God in prayer–in his mind the God that his grannie serves..  But his agonizing seems in vain, and he says in his heart that he does not want God to love him if he does not love everybody.  (This is lifted directly from MacDonald’s own experience, for he as a child had made the same declaration.)  Despairing because God does not seem to him to be answering, he decides to visit Double Sandy. He finds the shoemaker suffering from a strok...