A True Dragon Sickness

One of the most heart-wrenchingly sad moments of the Hobbit is when Thorin contracts the Dragon Sickness. We've been through this whole adventure, braving many perils, and we've grown to love the Dwarf king of Erebor. Suddenly the bravery and pride is gone, replaced by fear, suspicion and anger. Why, Thorin even attempts to kill Bilbo! The very Hobbit who saved his life numerous times over the course of this adventure.

While most of us will never encounter life-changing amounts of coin that will drive us mad, we've probably all encountered something that makes us change and change for the worse. One problem we've probably all experienced that is strikingly similar to Dragon Sickness is anxiety. It makes us fearful, cross, and distrustful. Because Anxiety is the absence of us being able to let go and lay things in God's care. I speak from experience.

Just as Thorin began to doubt his companions, the Dragon Sickness of anxiety makes us doubt ourselves, our families, our friends, and our God. As we see in the movies, Thorin becomes increasingly more self-reliant as his Sickness grows.

But one of the worst things that we can do when we encounter the Dragon Sickness of Anxiety is to isolate. Despite the fact that we want to try to forget our fear, it's not at all what we should do.

God did not make us to be lonely creatures. He wants us to connect with other humans, and gives us friends and families to open up to. As much as we might want to believe we can deal with this ourselves, it can really help to talk about what's going on in your head. Getting it out can be like a breath of fresh air, especially when you're talking about it with someone you know and trust who can remind you of God's word.

So the next time you're tempted to become a 'Lonely Mountain' in the midst of your worry, remember this verse from Proverbs 27:17, "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend." Not, of course, forgetting to sit down and talk to the friend who 'sticks closer than a brother,' and "Cast all your cares on Him, because he cares for you," as it says in 1st Peter 5:7.

Thank you all for joining me for this moth of Middle-Earth themed posts. Feel free to leave a comment. I always love hearing from my readers! And as always, Ad Lucem.

-L.E. Levens