TURKISH DELIGHT AND WHAT I'VE BEEN PONDERING IN THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE

THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE by C.S. Lewis

I stood at the kitchen counter and opened the Amazon box. As soon as I did, my muscle memory kicked in. My lips pulled back in dislike and my digestive system from my mouth to my stomach tightened just a bit. Turkish Delight. Many years ago, after reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to my kids, we came across some Turkish Delight in a store. I remember being surprised at the picture of the candy on the box. I had imagined something that looked a little different than what was pictured there. Maybe something chocolate with coconut...? Definitely not this. Surely, this stuff must be amazing. After all, Edmund sold his soul for it and possibly the lives of his three siblings not to mention the hope of Narnia living in freedom and restoration. This stuff has got to be good! We left the store and eagerly went home where the kids, and I opened the box, selected a flavor, and took a bite. This was Turkish Delight? There honestly was not a single thing that was "delightful" about it! We were so disappointed, and I'm pretty sure we all began mumbling to each other about how in the word Edmund could have sold out for this nastiness!

Fast forward a few years. My oldest daughter lived out of state and was attending a Dramatic Arts School. If you really know her, you know she loves experiences! So when we were in town, she couldn't wait to show us this authentic ethnic food restaurant not too far away from where she lived. It was delicious, and wouldn't you know, there was a grocery store filled with food and staples from the country. There, sitting on one of the shelves, was Turkish Delight. I convinced myself that what I bought from the store previously couldn't have been the real deal. Here it was right in front of me now, and this box was going to redeem our understanding of Edmund's decision. I purchased it, took it back to the hotel, and we opened it. Utter disappointment. None of us could understand Edmund's decision. It was clear he had never tasted the good possibilities of sugary sweets!

Reading through TLTWATW again for the umpteenth time with my high school group brought up Turkish Delight again. Most of them had never tasted it, so I dutifully promised to remedy that for them. So here I stood at the counter with this box of disappointment in my hands. However, this time my mind went to something different. How many times in scripture do we read about an event where someone made the wrong decision, and we want to reach through the pages and shake them while asking them how they could be so stupid? I mean hello?! Let's start with Adam and Eve in the Garden eating the forbidden fruit. Certainly, none of us would have made that same mistake. The Hebrews wandering around in the desert complaining about wanting to go back to Egypt, we all know that story. God delivered them from slavery, He promised them a wonderful future, and He revealed Himself and His power in the Ten Plagues and the Crossing of the Red Sea. How could they be so stupid? if you stop and think a moment, the examples really keep coming. There are so many ways that they missed the mark that we never would, right? But that's just it. I do miss the mark everyday. There is some form of Turkish Delight in my life and in your life, that we choose over Christ, over relationships with loved ones and friends, and over doing what is right. Oh, it doesn't look or taste like Turkish Delight, but its root is the same. Greed, Pride, Selfishness, Lust. You name it. It's there, and we all fall for it. Praise God that just like Aslan redeemed Edmund when he humbled himself, so Christ redeems us. He forgives us, restores us, and removes it away as "far as the east is from the west."

So this week, when I pull out the box of Turkish Delight in class and pass it around, I'll be asking the teens to think about what their "Turkish Delight" is in life, because we all have it. There isn't a more perfect time to start to reflect on this as we enter into the Christmas season where Christ set aside his Godship and entered our world to be the sacrifice. So with that in mind, what's your Turkish Delight?