Tuesday, November 29, 2011

In Which I Encourage You to Celebrate a Birthday

Today is Jack's birthday. That's what his family and friends called him...Jack. If he were alive, he would be 113 years old today.

Jack's real name was Clive Staples Lewis, better known to the public as C. S. Lewis. Aha! Now you recognize him, don't you!

Lewis was a writer, a Christian apologist, and was on the English faculty at Oxford University. He wrote this in regards to his coming to Christ...

"You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England."

Most people do not know that Lewis was a close friend of J. R. R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings and others. G. K. Chesterton was also a close friend.

I encourage you to view the 1993 movie, "Shadowlands", wherein Lewis meets and marries his wife, Joy Gresham. Their marriage lasted a short 3 years, ending when Joy succumbed to cancer. You will weep. If you did not before, you will then, have a huge heart for C. S. Lewis, the man.

Happy Birthday, C.S. (I don't think I'm close enough to call him, Jack, although I'm sure he would beg to differ. He was that kinda guy.)

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10 comments:

Kelly said...

Happy Birthday to CS Lewis, one of my very favorite authors!

S. Etole said...

He gave us so much. Thank you for this.

Laurie M. said...

I've always wished I could have known him. My mom was pregnant with me when he (and JFK) died. I listened to a full lecture series about him and his theology. The descriptions of his personality and manner reminded me a bit of my dear husband. I think I would have liked him.

Karen said...

Beautiful post! Thanks for sharing!

Beth L. Gainer said...

I love CS Lewis. Thank you for such a lovely tribute to him!

Debra said...

Love this post-I loved the movie, and I did cry-buckets. Always have loved his writing. Thank you for his birthday tribute.
Love, Debra

Jennifer Dougan said...

He's a wonderful author and theologian. Thanks. I haven't seen the movie. How is it?

Jennifer Dougan
www.jenniferdougan.com

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Wonderful tribute to CS Lewis! works! I felt privilaged to see where he was born in Belfast, Ireland, this past spring.

Nancy's Point said...

I always learn a thing or two when I visit your blog and today was no exception. Thanks for this post.

Bill said...

Yes - you will weep. I believe that to be the case with just about any live delved into - even the happy ones. It is all laced with sorrow.

That said, I hope your Christmas was wonderful/

Happy New Year! May it be a grand year.