Katniss Everdeen, The Girl On Fire

*Spoiler*
This post includes details about the entire Hunger Games series.  Please do not read on if you haven't read the books, but wish to.  Come back after you read them though! :)

Rereading the Hunger Games this weekend was an interesting experience for me.  I generally remember books I read pretty well, but for some reason this series didn't stick with me.  I remembered a few of the big details, but for the most part it was like reading them for the first time. 

When I put down Mockingjay today there was still a trail of tears on my face, and I just sat there in the silence.  I am so thankful that my God is real, that He never leaves me, and that even though life - real life - isn't lovey dovey and we don't usually get fairytale endings, He's always there.  What really struck me was that Katniss and Peeta were only 16 when the horror of being reaped for the Hunger Games took place.  They were 16 when they saw 22 other children killed around them.  By their own hands or not.  And then they're back in district 12, and just when everything seems as normal as it can be after being in the arena, everything takes another complete shift.  These two "star-crossed-lovers" are reaped again.  And now both Katniss and Peeta have volunteered for the Games.  They are 17. 

I physically hurt with the pain that Katniss feels through the whole ordeal.  Her confusion, hurt, the betrayal she feels.  The Mockingjay, the face of the rebellion is found alone most of the time.  She spends a lot of her time running from everyone because reality is a nightmare, but her nightmares are even worse than reality.  I can't imagine having to see almost everyone and everything she ever loved ripped away from her. 

I imagine those reading these books that feel like Katniss do, and I pray that they know just how much the Lord loves them.  I pray that they know they are not alone.  When we feel alone is generally when the Lord really has picked us up and holds us close in His arms. 

I'm amazed at the stark difference between our reality and Panem [the rubble of the U.S left behind after our nation falls].  More than that though my soul grieves for the utter despair that takes over a life that isn't founded in the Lord.  Add to it that the whole country of Panem doesn't embrace any religion at all, and the sorrow is magnified a hundred fold.  The greed of the few lucky to be born in the Capital, and the literal hunger and suffering of those born into places like District 12.  But then I look at our world.  Is it really so different?  The Games remind me of the Arena in ancient Rome, with a sadistic, high-tech twist.  Well even back then it was horrible. 

Is our world today really so different in that the rich are the few, and a very large portion of the world is dying of hungry or disease, all things that we can fix - if we are willing to stand up and make a difference.  We don't live in a place like Panem where contact with anyone outside of your district is forbidden, where you can't leave the perimeter that a select few have chosen for you.  We have the freedom to use our money as we wish, to travel the world.  So what holds us back?  Lack of initiative?  Are we waiting for someone like Katniss to spark a revolution?  We shouldn't have to.  We're commanded to take care of the poor, the widows, and those without clothes on their backs.  A large part of the world seems to have forgotten though.  

This series leaves me still with a lot to chew over.  If you decided to read this post anyway without reading the books, I will say that yes there is a happy ending, the impossible happens and Katniss chooses who she will love.  I won't say who though :)  

I recommend reading them.  Written in first person narrative first bugged me a lot, but you really get to think like The Girl On Fire.  It fits her character. 

And if you didn't already know, the Hunger Games comes out on the Big Screen 3-23-12.  I'm going, are you?

-Katilynn Marie

The Love of the Lord

Hello again,
So lately the Lord has really been pressing upon me His unyielding, unconditional love for me.  I admit that some days are good days and some days are not so good for me.  There are the days that I wake up ready to embrace what the Lord has for me, and there are some mornings I wake up and don't want to even get out of bed.  This is how I know I'm on the right track though:  I don't have all of the answers, I don't have the strength to do it on my own, and I still don't even know what it is I'm supposed to be doing or feeling or saying....

I've done a lot of thinking lately (oh no) and mostly it's been in a sort of circle.  I guess I'm trying to figure out how to live out my purpose in a world that is consumed with itself.  Well to begin with I'm still trying to discover my own purpose on this earth.  But it does make it infinitely more difficult with so many people walking around who don't really give a hoot. 

Anyway, back to His love.  Because that's what it all boils down to.  God's amazing love for us.  For you.  For me.  It's funny [or ironic maybe] that the name of this blog is the Greatest Commandment.  Which is a reference to Deuteronomy 6:5 [NKJV].

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 

[The Message]:

Love God, your God, with your whole heart; love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got!

 When I created this blog my freshman year of college, it was to glorify the Lord.  Writing at His calling.  Since then I've contemplated changing the name of this blog multiple times, but each time I don't.  There's always a nagging at the back of my mind that says, "No, keep it as it is.  For My glory, not yours, Kaitlynn."  And I can't argue with that.

Now that I've truly stepped into the Lord's love for me, this passage takes on a different meaning.  It looks different than it used to.  Before when I would read this, and when I tried to live it out, it was all me showing my human love for the Lord.  Which is great....but not enough.  I didn't absolutely believe the power that grace had, I didn't see the absolute beauty that God sees when He looks at me.  A love that's one sided isn't really love at all.  What I thought was loving God was only a pale picture of the truth, of reality.  I was looking at Him, trying to love Him through a glass door that was closed.  The door only had a handle on my side.  It was my choice to accept the love of the One who gave up His life for me.  And when I did open that door, my knight in shining armor swept me off my feet and held me close.  Close enough to feel His touch, to hear His heart beating where my head laid on His chest. 

Have you opened the door to the God of creation yet?  Have you allowed the Greatest Love Story ever told to become your love story with the One who will never leave you nor forsake you? 

And so Deuteronomy 6:5 looks different to me because I know that the Lord absolutely loves me, and so for me to love Him is completely different now.  Nothing I do or don't do can strengthen His love for me, because it is already infinite.  And so I can rest in His love, and continue to learn how to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, and mind.