All that is gold...

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes, a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be the blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king

The poem above was written by J.R.R Tolkien for his novel, the Lord of the Rings. The quote "All that glitters is not gold" is a more familiar version (taken from Shakespeare) but it relays a different truth to what this poem means. The latter calls for a discernment between real quality and what is fake in the simplest of translations, but Tolkien wants us to see far beyond the surface, and beyond the present situation.

All that is gold does not glitter;

Not all those who wander are lost

(I am learning even more to look past the shell of the body and to see the treasure of the soul, I am learning that the one who stumbles or falls can rise again)

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost

(It takes time to grow the deepest roots that last forever; deep roots do not wither because not even the coldest act of cruelty can damage it)

From the ashes, a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring

(God can bring what was dead back to life)

Renewed shall be the blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king

(There is hope for restoration, what was lost shall be returned)

Don't write anyone off. God has given all of us gifts and some may seem to be on display more than others. But all that God gives is good (James 1:17). And if you feel like you have lost what you have been given, God does not hold anything good from His children who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11; Matthew 7:11).

Stay encouraged,

FeyVored

         

                                                                                                                         Photo credit: Photos by FeyVored