you have value

A few weeks ago, I saw the third Chronicles of Narnia movie: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This book was my 2nd favorite in the Narnia series (after The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), so I was looking forward to seeing it on the big screen. It was a little long, but overall I liked it. However, there's one part of the movie I have been thinking about a lot since then. Because it deals with something I've been struggling with lately.

Lemme start off by saying Lucy is my favorite character. Wasn't she so cute in the first movie? She was so little. She was so innocent. She loved Narnia, Mr. Tumnus, the beavers, Aslan, everything.


And now it's years later and Lucy is growing up. She and her brother Edmund are brought back to Narnia one last time. During this adventure, a group from the Dawn Treader sail to an island and Lucy goes inside a magical house. She sees a book of incantations and inside is a spell that will make you the "beauty you've always wanted to be". There is a small mirror on that page and Lucy sees herself slowly turn into Susan. "I'm beautiful!"


She rips the page out of the book (to take with her) and suddenly hears Aslan's roar and his voice calling out to her: "Lucy!" She can't see him, but you can tell she's frightened.

At night, Lucy is in bed and pulls out the page she ripped out. She recites the spell and then jumps out of bed to look at herself in the full-length mirror. She is Susan in a pretty blue dress.


She opens the mirror and walks through it. On the other side, music is playing and she is at an English party in someone's backyard. She gets announced ("Ladies and gentlemen...Miss Penvensie!"), everyone claps, all the men are eyeing her and saying how beautiful she is.

Edmund shows up to take her right arm. Peter shows up and takes her left arm. A photographer says, "Excuse me, miss. May I take a photo?"

"Oh Mother's going to love this," says Peter as the 3 of them pose, "All her children in one picture."


"Hang on, where am I? I mean, where's Lucy?" asks Susan (who is really Lucy)

"Lucy? Who's Lucy?" says Edmund, looking confused

Susan (Lucy) starts to frown and tries to pull away from her brothers.

"Susan! What's wrong?" -Peter, smiling for the camera

"I'm not sure about this. I think I want to go back." -Susan/Lucy

"Go back where?" -Edmund, also still trying to pose and smile for the photo

"To Narnia!" -Susan/Lucy

"What on earth is 'Narnia'?" -Edmund

"What's going on!? Stop this!!" -Susan/Lucy screams to the photographer

The lens flashes and Susan puts her hands over her face. When she takes them away from her face, it is Lucy, back in her dark room on the Dawn Treader, and staring into the mirror in horror at what just happened.

Aslan walks up to her in the mirror. She turns to see him, but he's not in the room with her. Just in the mirror.


"Lucy...what have you done, child?" -Aslan

"I don't know. That was awful." -Lucy

"But you chose it, Lucy." -Aslan

"I didn't mean to choose all of that," said Lucy getting tearful. "I just wanted to be beautiful like Susan. That's all."

"You wished yourself away. And with it, much more. Your brothers and sister wouldn't know Narnia without you, Lucy. You discovered it first, remember?" -Aslan

"I'm so sorry." -Lucy

"You doubt your value. Don't run from who you are."

This part of the movie has been causing me to think a lot. I have been struggling lately with the "comparing game". I look at other people and wish I had more of their attributes. I wish I was prettier. I wish I was funnier. I wish I was smarter. I wish I was more athletic. I wish I was this or that. I look at someone and think, "I wish I was more like that person..."

I'm like Lucy.

And this part of the movie reminded me that I shouldn't wish to be like other people. God made me who I am. I should never doubt my value. My value comes from being His child. And there are things about me that make me special, just like there were things about Lucy that made her special. I love when Aslan reminded her that her siblings would never have even known Narnia if it hadn't been for her.

I hope this encourages you, if you've also been struggling with the "comparison game" as well.

You are known.

You are special.

You are loved.

You have value.