LotR Lesson #2: Get You a "Ride or Die" Like Eowyn
It's among the world's worst-kept secrets: Eowyn, daughter of Eomund, of the house of Eorl, a.k.a. Dernhelm ("hidden protector"), is, to quote the ancient kings of Rohan, a bad mama jama.
She is no man, she is the defender of Theoden, King of Rohan, she is the slayer of the Witch-king of Angmar. You plan on messing with her, you best plan on getting messed up.
She's also an awesome friend.
She has Merry Brandybuck's back all the way, from Edoras to Dunharrow to the fields of Pelennor. At Dunharrow, she tells Merry to go get his sword sharpened ahead of the fight. Her brother, noble warrior though he may be, shows his jerk side:
Eomer: "You should not encourage him."
Eowyn: "You should not doubt him."
Eomer: "I do not doubt his heart, only the reach of his arm."
Eowyn: "Why should Merry be left behind? Why can he not fight for those he loves?"
When her own brother cast doubt over Merry's usefulness in the battle ahead, she defended him. She stood up for him. And she didn't stop there.
King Theoden himself shut Merry down before they rode to Minas Tirith, saying none of his riders can afford to make the long ride carrying Merry as a burden. But what does Eowyn do?
Burden, my little finger.
Think about that. She's about to go into the fight of her life, and she still takes thought for the little guy, her new friend who wants only to defend his home and help his friends. She's even willing to potentially weigh herself down to help him realize his hopes.
She's the kind of friend we all need and hopefully can find and have in our lives. Stuff weighs us down. People, messages, images - there are a lot of things out there telling us we aren't enough, we aren't capable, we aren't ready, we're only going to fail. They doubt not only the reaches of our arms, but even our hearts. They tell us we're a burden others can't afford to bear, so we should just stay behind.
We need friends like Eowyn, and we need to BE friends like Eowyn. She, like us, had a LOT on her plate at the time. Just in the last several days, she'd lost her cousin Theodred, she'd been relegated to traditional women's work of tending to the elderly and sick and children during Helm's Deep, been denied her overpowering desire to find renown in battle, had fallen in love with Aragorn and been denied, and then told by her king she would reign over Rohan "if the battle goes ill."
But she still took thought for a little Hobbit, she bore him as a burden as well as bore his burdens with him, and even in the moments before the great charge into battle sought to comfort and lift his spirits.
Friends like Eowyn lift us when we're down, bear our burdens with us, mourn and comfort us when we mourn and need comfort, even as they deal with their own troubles. We all deserve to have friends like this, and we should all strive to be friends like this. Let us take thought for those who are being told they need to stay behind, or are being told their reach isn't enough. Let us seek to encourage them, remember them, even carry them with us if we're able. Let us also seek those who would do the same for us, for such are true friends worth more than all the wealth of the Shire.
She is no man, she is the defender of Theoden, King of Rohan, she is the slayer of the Witch-king of Angmar. You plan on messing with her, you best plan on getting messed up.
She's also an awesome friend.
She has Merry Brandybuck's back all the way, from Edoras to Dunharrow to the fields of Pelennor. At Dunharrow, she tells Merry to go get his sword sharpened ahead of the fight. Her brother, noble warrior though he may be, shows his jerk side:
Eomer: "You should not encourage him."
Eowyn: "You should not doubt him."
Eomer: "I do not doubt his heart, only the reach of his arm."
Eowyn: "Why should Merry be left behind? Why can he not fight for those he loves?"
 |
| He's got a mean smolder, but Eomer can be kind of a putz. |
When her own brother cast doubt over Merry's usefulness in the battle ahead, she defended him. She stood up for him. And she didn't stop there.
King Theoden himself shut Merry down before they rode to Minas Tirith, saying none of his riders can afford to make the long ride carrying Merry as a burden. But what does Eowyn do?
Burden, my little finger.
Think about that. She's about to go into the fight of her life, and she still takes thought for the little guy, her new friend who wants only to defend his home and help his friends. She's even willing to potentially weigh herself down to help him realize his hopes.
She's the kind of friend we all need and hopefully can find and have in our lives. Stuff weighs us down. People, messages, images - there are a lot of things out there telling us we aren't enough, we aren't capable, we aren't ready, we're only going to fail. They doubt not only the reaches of our arms, but even our hearts. They tell us we're a burden others can't afford to bear, so we should just stay behind.
We need friends like Eowyn, and we need to BE friends like Eowyn. She, like us, had a LOT on her plate at the time. Just in the last several days, she'd lost her cousin Theodred, she'd been relegated to traditional women's work of tending to the elderly and sick and children during Helm's Deep, been denied her overpowering desire to find renown in battle, had fallen in love with Aragorn and been denied, and then told by her king she would reign over Rohan "if the battle goes ill."
But she still took thought for a little Hobbit, she bore him as a burden as well as bore his burdens with him, and even in the moments before the great charge into battle sought to comfort and lift his spirits.
Friends like Eowyn lift us when we're down, bear our burdens with us, mourn and comfort us when we mourn and need comfort, even as they deal with their own troubles. We all deserve to have friends like this, and we should all strive to be friends like this. Let us take thought for those who are being told they need to stay behind, or are being told their reach isn't enough. Let us seek to encourage them, remember them, even carry them with us if we're able. Let us also seek those who would do the same for us, for such are true friends worth more than all the wealth of the Shire.
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| If they bring you snacks or a bevvy, they're an even better friend! |
Comments
(she can’t be awesome at EVERYTHING...)
And very good thoughts, Steven. You need to make a talk about this because it is all about ministering.