Many of you may know or many of you may not, but as of this past Friday I have completed my radiation treatment. It was my last treatment for the lymphoma, and up to this point I am finished with chemotherapy and radiation! I haven't documented too much of what went on during radiation. It's not that there wasn't much to document. But in regards to the story of what has gone in my life the past 5 months, I would liken the experience to a "return journey".
In any well written story, there is always falling action. The climax of the story has happened, the problem has been resolved, but there is still some things to be done to wrap up the story. If there is a story where the protagonist is a sojourner or traveler on some sort of journey or quest, the falling action typically takes place on what might be called the return journey. You don't typically read much about return journeys. It's not because they aren't interesting, nor is it because the hero doesn't have any more adventures. It's just that the return journey has a whole different feel than the journey away.
When a hero sets out on his quest (the best example of these in my opinion is the Hobbit), he is scared, ignorant of the world around him, and altogether not ready to tackle the challenge before him. It might not even seem to those around him that he is the protagonist at all. Along the journey away he begins to have adventures. He begins to learn new things about the world. He starts to tackle challenges, things he has never faced before. He meets new people. Encounters different cultures and customs. His perspective slowly begins to change. He may become equipped with information, an item, or some token that will enable him to conquer whatever is set before him. There are various difficulties, hard times, sufferings, as well as joyous occasions along the way, things that cause celebration. These all lend aid, in some way or another, to the hero as he is ready to face the climax of the story. Without the rising action of the plot, without the character experiencing these things, the story is literally flat.
But once the climax has been reached, once the problem has been resolved, and the falling action, the return journey, begins, the story changes. The protagonist has been changed. He is now different. He's learned and experienced things that will affect him for the rest of his life. A journey to him now is not so mind-blowing as it was to him at the beginning of all things. Sure there may be exciting adventures to be had, new people to meet, incredible stories to tell, dangers and hardship, or maybe even tragedy along the way. But as the protagonist has already overcome the climax and the conflict has been resolved, the return journey has almost a feeling of nostalgia and finality.
Think of someone climbing a mountain. When he/she begins to climb, everything is new. New paths, new sights, new adventures, new dangers, etc. Each difficult situation is exciting, fresh, and maybe even a little scary. There is always the constant anticipation of what's to come. As he comes closer to the top, the anticipation builds and builds until he makes it to the apex of the mountain. That is the climax. But think about it, no one really remembers too much of the journey back down. It's not that it isn't as important. In fact, there may be just as many adventures, difficulties, and memories to be made, but at the end of the day, you've conquered the mountain, you've accomplished what you set out to do, and you are changed because of it. This is the return journey.
While all this is true, there is also a sacred aspect of the return journey. Something that makes the return journey special and unique compared to the rest of the story. If you think about it, many of us, after a good story, always wish to know about what happened to this or that character after the climax of the story. Wouldn't it be great to have the adventures of Bilbo Baggins as he returned from defeating Smaug? But there is this secretness or sacredness of the return journey. It is special, something to be experienced by the hero himself. The reader may get just a vague idea of what happens in the return journey. And that is the way it should be.
This is the beauty of the return journey. It is perhaps my favorite part of the story. While it may be brief and insignificant in light of the entire problem and resolution of the story, it holds so much potential and meaning outside of what's been told. The protagonist has been changed. His outlook on the world has been significantly shifted. He has grown as a character. He has experienced things that he never would've experienced. He has learned so much that he never would've learned. His journey was completed, and the feeling of finality enables a sigh of relief.
Perhaps this is why I love the end of the Scriptures so much. Because, in some ways it chronicles the return journey. Revelation 21-22 detail what the end of all things will be like. Jesus will make all things new, a new heaven and a new earth. There will be no more crying, pain, tears, and death. And for the characters in the story, he says this, "He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son." It goes on to tell of God dwelling with man, of refreshment, joy, and of things made right. The final conflict will be over. Jesus will reign and we will be with him for forever. WE WILL SEE HIS FACE. Incredible. And in those last few chapters of Scripture, there holds so much beautiful meaning and potential and unknown excitement, that we just wish to know what happens to the characters. But just like in other stories, we as the readers don't get to experience what the characters in the story go through in their return journey. That's for them. It is sacred. Oh but it doesn't end there for us! What makes this story so sweet, is that we, those who belong to Christ, will get to actually experience the ultimate return journey. Now to be sure, it is Jesus who is the protagonist. He is the one who has ultimately overcome. We just get to experience all the awesomeness that is involved with his dwelling with us. A story chock-full of adventures that not even the greatest of writers could come up with, nor all the books in the world could contain.
