"I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something. "    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I like this quote. It reminds me of the verse posted by my profile from Hebrews 12. We must persevere in this race because our journey really matters in some obscure kingdom-related way. We don't know the impact that our small story has on the people around us. But, we need to believe that our life matters. And the truth is that it does matter. Otherwise we wouldn't be here, at this place, at this time.

Throughout Frodo's journey he hung onto the truth that what he was doing mattered. That carrying the ring through the midst of evil for the purpose of destroying it was a mighty-big and important task. Although sometimes he needed Sam to remind him of this. It's easy to lose perspective when we're weary and hungry and scared.

I guess I need to stop and ask myself the question, "What am I holding on to that gives my life purpose?"