”˜I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo.
”˜So do I,’ said Gandalf, ”˜and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us
Then Frodo kissed Merry and Pippin, and last of all Sam, and went abroad; and the sails were drawn up, and the wind blew, and slowly the ship slipped away down the long grey firth; and the light of the glass of Galadriel that Frodo bore glimmered and was lost. And the ship went out into the High Sea and passed on into the West, until at last one night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise.
–J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
The top quote is one of my favourite Tolkein quotes. It encapsulates the idea that we do not choose our life – but we are accountable for the choices we make.
It was also one of my favourite passages in the movie …
It helps greatly in days as these to keep our eyes on the prize.
“…for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”