My life as of late seems haunted by the topic of relationships, so I've come to the conclusion God's trying to make a point. From random conversations at Starbucks to Bible study topics it's this repeating theme in my life right now. Along with that I seem to have developed an obsession with Lord of the Rings right now. I find myself sticking the DVD in for background noise while working around the house and inevitably find myself picking up a section that stands out to me. Strangely enough for some reason the character of Gollum stands out to me right now. He's a character I can't get away from. I think in some way it's because much like Frodo, I relate to him. I see a piece of myself in his struggles. I think on previous viewings I saw him as a villain. The last few times around I've started seeing him as myself.
There's a Gollum in all of us. He's really just our everyday inner struggles brought to the outside in their purest, most socially unacceptable form. I think the scene in The Two Towers in which Frodo is trying to understand Gollum as an individual really struck me this time. "You were not so very different from a Hobbit once, were you?" is the part that especially stood out to me. In that one statement Frodo connects with this social outcast, not only that he gives him his name and identity back. A name and identity that had been lost by the choices he had made. Frodo makes a connection to that part of this creature that everyone else had given up on. Frodo gives him a chance to be redeemed by seeing him as more than he appeared. Of course in the end Gollum chooses a path that leads to his destruction, but even that has significance to me. Because of a little Hobbit, who was willing to see past the surface to the person that once was underneath he was given a chance.
This made me think what would happen if my struggles took a toll that was as apparent as Gollum's? Would a Frodo come along and give me a chance to regain who and what I once was? Would someone show me how I could be redeemed? Which leads me to the question of what do I do? Do I see past the Gollum in others to the Smeagol that lies beneath? Do I focus on our differences or do I see our similarities and use those to build a relationship?
I believe that God sends people into our lives for a purpose. If we focus on those similarities our relationships become stronger by the support we share from our varied experience in life. If we focus on the differences they will inevitably divide us and we become like Gollum living our lives in a distant cave cut off from those who can help with our struggles. By focusing on those similarities we can find ourselves with a companion like Sam, who when the struggle became so great for Frodo said, "I can't carry it for you... but I can carry you!"
