If the West falls, I'm your man!

There are some things that pretty much never fail me:

1. The Psalms (and Scripture in general)

2. A good meal

3. A conversation with my mom

4. A great book


These are (or should be) my go to's when I find myself in the Slough of Despond.


As I struggle in the midst of wedding planning, finishing a hellish online Spanish class in order to graduate, work, job hunting, coping with being off an anti-depressant, the pressures of moving, and a million other imaginable and unimaginable stresses (like the emotional strain of possibly moving away from a place and people that I've loved for up to five years), I find words like, "In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust...Be thou my strong rock...For thy name's sake lead me, and guide me..." to be the firm ground upon which I can place my feet, and stake my life.

Great books--especially old, often read and dearly loved books, are joys in the midst of changing times, that's for sure. I left La Mirada library on Tuesday morning, practically giddy with delight over my newly checked-out treasures: Anne of Green Gables, The Fellowship of the Ring, and The Count of Monte Cristo on audiobook. I felt sure that if they knew how happy I was, they would never let me take my bounty for free. I suppose the public library system proves that happiness can be without a cost (unless you're a tax payer).

Listening to Anne of Green Gables makes me completely not mind--dare I say--even enjoy being stuck in bad traffic on the 5 for way too long. I am too busy laughing over Anne's antics and predicaments, and quoting Marilla's best lines, and enjoying the comfortable familiarity of a childhood book to care that I'm crawling along the asphalt at five miles an hour along with every other Southern Californian.

Last night Sean took me to Ruby's for our TWO YEAR anniversary. On the way back, I was telling him about my latest audiobook adventures, and he asked me, "Do you ever worry that one day you might live in a totalitarian regime in which the freedom to read whatever you want is not allowed?" My answer: EVERY DAY. Which is why I've been working on my "Books to Save In Case A Totalitarian Regime Takes Over" List for a long time:

1. The Bible
2. The Complete Works of Shakespeare
3. The Brothers Karamazov
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I'm convinced that these are the books which would bolster my courage in the face of pure evil, and keep me constantly reminded that Goodness, Truth, and Beauty still exist in this world. These are the literary masterpieces that would uphold my soul in the hour of darkness.

(On a side note: I believe that this is also why I attempt to--and sometimes succeed at--memorizing prodigious amounts of Scripture. Surely I am spurred on by a desire to know God and be transformed by His Word, but I also harbor a very melodramatic and inspiring vision of the West falling, and when we all meet together underground to piece our lives and literatures back together, I can supply Colossians and 1 John for the welfare and benefit of my fellow man! [Obviously on an even greater side note, I have read Fahrenheit 451 far too many times.])


All that to say, Sean and I have decided that when we have our own place, we will specifically arrange a collections of books that we will easily be able to grab in case the government suddenly falls and the Marxists--or, God forbid--the KJV-only fundamentalists take over and drive us God-fearing, literature-loving, Harry Potter and Walt Disney fans underground.