Promised is Promised

Anyone who has taken a proper class in English literature will have read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), and perhaps will have read the sequel as well, Through the Looking Glass (1871). Both books were authored by an English mathematician writing under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll.

But you needn't be a scholar to have heard of the story or to be familiar with the plot line. Within four years of publication it was popular enough to have been translated into both French and German. At last count, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has now been published in 174 different languages. Walt Disney chose the story and shortened the title for a full length animated film that was released in 1951, which meant that even non-readers became familiar with this classic. And more recently, Tim Burton stretched artistic license for both titles in directing his CGI films (2010, 2016).

The story is now over 150 years old. I learned it from my dad who had memorized some of the poems in the book when he was a child. He read it to me as a bedtime story. He owned a 1946 special edition that reprinted John Tenniel's woodblock illustrations from the original publishing. Those pictures, one of which is used here, acted as cornerstones from which my imagination could fill in the details; I am glad that I never saw the movies first. 

As you probably know, the story begins with Alice falling down the rabbit-hole. That was me, in real-life, last summer. Except in a Looking Glass reversal, I wasn't falling; I was stuck in the doldrums. No air ever rushed by, just a lull in life. I was in my own Land of Wondering if I would ever reach my God-given destiny.

Since this is the Bootcamp Planet blog, my posts here are rooted in the idea that the purpose of life on Earth is largely training for the afterlife. You have to graduate bootcamp to make it to heaven. Graduation is based upon accepting Jesus Christ. But beyond that, once you accept Him and receive admittance into Heaven, your rank in Heaven depends on how well you've obeyed His will during your bootcamp days. (It can be proven from scripture that "hearing and obeying" God is more important than how many "good deeds" you've done. But that will have to wait for another post; trust me and accept that premise because I don't want to get sidetracked now. The alternative, rejection of Christ, leads to hell.)

So, back on topic, at the end of last summer I felt not only stagnated in purpose, but also pressured by time, as if it was running out for me to reach God's goals for my life and improve my heavenly rank. I felt like I had achieved only half of what God has for me, and like Alice, I could not see where my feet were headed.

Tenniel woodcut

Another way that I identified with Alice was that it seemed as though the help that people did offer to me wasn't really meeting the need. When Alice was to play croquet with the Queen, she was given live hedgehogs for balls and a flamingo for a mallet. Alice soon came to the conclusion that it was a very difficult game indeed; I understand her reasoning perfectly. Her tools did not fit the task, and I was questioning if mine did.

While I never cried an ocean of tears the way Alice did, there were moments when I felt that swirling, drowning hopelessness of not being able to see a way out. And that was when my very own Storybook Hero appeared on the page. He said only three words, "Versprochen ist versprochen," but something deep within my soul leapt up from the watery deep and clung on for dear life. "Promised is promised." It was a fresh breath. It changed everything. 

I remember sitting there looking at the words. Promised is promised. That was when the tears came, but unlike Alice's sorrow, these were tears of joy. It was as if God had said it Himself. But instead He used a person who didn't know me, who I will probably never meet this side of Heaven, and who didn't even say it in English!  You have to admit, that is as curious as anything you'd ever read in Alice in Wonderland.

Cares that mattered a moment before didn't matter anymore. God had reminded me that His promises are solid, and that there was a least one other person in this would who understood the value of a promise. I had begun doubting if anyone did.

Three words changed my entire perspective. They were a heaven-sent gift, and ten months later I can say that never reverted back. Not for a moment. Instead it has grown in its new direction. Some days I will walk through the woods and think, "Wow, I'm really happy. Deep down happy!"  When stuff happens that would try to steal my joy, I let go of it a lot faster now.  I am able to see the Big Picture concepts and not get so easily stuck in the minutiae of the details.  Faith comes more fully now: God's got this! His promises are promised. 

I re-read sections of Alice in Wonderland last night to be sure that I remembered the story correctly. (I did!) But what struck me for the first time was that Wonderland was Alice's own bootcamp.  Her experiences there prepared her for the life that lay ahead. The book ends with Alice's older sister, who was babysitting when Alice slept and dreamed her dream, realizing how—

… this same little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood: and how she would gather about her other little children, and make their eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream of Wonderland of long ago: and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days.

The differences are that Alice's Wonderland was a dream of long ago. My wonderland is a vision of the future. In Alice's after-time, she will be ripe in years. In my after-time, those who sought the Lord will be vibrant and full of life. Although I can remember many happy summer days of childhood, I am convinced that my happiest summers are still ahead. The 'simple' sorrows will get left behind on our Bootcamp Planet, but as long as I am here, I will not forget the messenger who reminded me that Versprochen ist versprochen; Promised is promised.

God has promised this in Jeremiah 29:11—
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
And I can believe it now.


illustration credit: John Tenniel - public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=629700