Lessons on Disappointment and Hope from Tolkien
Photo courtesy of Magnific
A few months ago I revisited one of my favorite short stories, The Leaf by Niggle by J.R.R. Tolkien, a wonderful little story that can easily be read in a single afternoon. It tells of a painter, Niggle, who strives to create a work of a beautiful tree before he has to set off on a journey in the near future. Yet try as he might, he becomes repeatedly distracted from his work. Some things that take him away from his endeavors are virtuous acts of service to others out of his kindness of heart. Other times, Niggle is distractible, impatient with others, and eager to return to his work of painting the leaves of the beautiful tree. After all, it is his life's work of utmost importance, and he has to get it done before the train arrives to whisk him off to a mysterious journey.
To Niggle’s dismay, his train arrives quickly. His painting of the tree is far from complete; in fact, Niggle only manages to paint a single leaf before the conductor pulls in. Yet, once released into the beautiful country later in the story (symbolizing eternity), he is astonished as he sees his tree there. Leaves adorn the tree that Niggle never had time to complete, some of which had been only a fleeting thought in his mind. Yet there before him is the tree, complete and adorned in unimaginable beauty, filling Niggle’s heart with a joy unspeakable.
Suffering For the Christ Follower
For the Christ follower, our template for dealing with the reality of disappointment, failure, and suffering is unique. Not only should we expect suffering, but I have always been baffled to remember the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans: "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3-4). We are called to a different measure of life, and to be an example of that measure, that life isn’t just about ease and pleasure and success but about doing the unimaginable and finding joy, purpose, and meaning even in suffering.
Hope, Endurance, and Character
The hope Paul mentions is a beacon to guide us through the sufferings we encounter along our way to our Heavenly Father. Such hope is the only reason we can rejoice in the face of the pains that bring aches to our souls. To continually tap into the resource of hope allows an eternal perspective to permeate our hearts. This can deeply change how we navigate suffering and make sense of our journey through it. How we navigate suffering is important. We often spend our time ruminating on the pain, failure, or disappointment itself. We spend far less time speaking wisdom to our souls, or prayerfully reflecting on How we are suffering, which is needed to learn to endure it well. When we hope, we are informing and injecting our suffering narrative with the views of God. We are speaking back to our souls, challenging our poor assumptions of God’s proximity to our struggles.
Different Kinds of Hope
The Beck Institute, the leading international resource for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, defines hope as "the capacity to recognize how one can achieve their goals, coupled with the belief that they have the motivation and agency to do so." Modern Cognitive Behavioral Therapy approaches have attested to the process of recovery that involves the alignment of the patient to their values, life aspirations, and life purposes. What are they hoping for? In therapy, this can quickly become a central driving question that shouldn’t be ignored by the practitioner.
Yet, the beauty of Tolkien's The Leaf by Niggle is how it alludes to the difference between the hope of a Christ follower and the hopes of those left to their own devices. Hope is strong and potent, and for most of the story, Niggle's hope is simple: to see his magnum opus (the painting of a tree) finally finished in all of its glory, a hope which sometimes leads him to have poor character. And after all his efforts, it crushes him to see all of his musterings amount to nothing more than a leaf. The message is clear: Niggle was unable to accomplish what he had hoped for during the course of his life. In his own assessment of himself, he failed. But there is still a better hope that Niggle is informed of. The hope of a “finisher of the work,” a Creator who holds all in his hands and works out all things for good in the end (Romans 8:28).
Tapping Into Hope
I often wonder how much of the work we do unto God here on earth will be meaningful in eternity. I ask myself, is what I’m doing valuable? And if so how is it valuable in the eyes of Jesus? Sometimes I can see that the things I'm striving for currently, things that take up much of my attention and resources, aren’t actually very important or fruitful when I see them through God’s eyes. It’s worth taking time to reflect on the objects of our hope and the value we ascribed to our endeavors. Only by noticing can we shift toward something better.
Then, as a practitioner, I realize in this story what power hope has. (How much more so if the hope is placed in an all-powerful, all-loving, Good Good Father.) If I can connect clients to their hope, how might this affect their journey of therapy? Surely it would impact how they navigate suffering, how they treat their interpersonal issues, and how they deduce purpose and meaning from their lives. Truly, a practitioner has to always keep the question of “What is my client hoping for? What are they hoping in?” in view during therapy. And in these questions there is also rest. Because the same God who makes hope possible also undergirds the transformative power of therapy itself.