Twilight ... Imagry

I am an avid reader and I thoroughly enjoy a well written book. When a story is well written, the words disappear and only the story remains, and, whether or not you are a fan of  shape shifters and "sparkly vampires",  Twilight is still a well written story. I read all 4 books in 9 days and would have finished quicker than that if I could have sent my family out of town- ha-ha.

 

As I read the books, there were a multitude of things that stood out to me that I could post about, like how refreshing Edward's morals were with respect to intimacy or how we are drawn to stories like Twilight because the love story is so unrealistic, but I was ultimately most struck by the imagery during the battle at the end of Breaking Dawn.  I was touched by all the people who came to the Cullen's aid. I was equally drawn to the dark image of the Volturi and I wonder, if we could see Satan's minions, if their presence would be similar. Are Satan and his followers sure of victory when they face me? Are they arrogant in their attack? Are they calm and confident while I struggle to gather myself and brace for their attack? Those are thoughts for another post. Today, I am thinking about the similarities between the ways the Volturi's attack and Satan's.

The Volturi attacked the mind first, causing pain, delusions, confusion, blindness, and disorientation. One had a power that would cause her opponents to turn from their alliances and be drawn to the Volturi. Satan too attacks the mind. He causes us anguish through fear, worry, anxiety, frustration, unforgiveness, anger, bitterness, etc. Satan separates young, weak, or hurting believers from the Church body and draws them to himself. He causes delusions...we don't see things clearly. He confuses us and makes us blind to the truth of God's Word AND to the evil-ness of his plans. Need an example? See Genesis 3:4-5
 

 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

 

 We know all this and I've written about it on more than one occasion. What struck me in Breaking Dawn was the IMAGRY of the attack. Bella learns to project her protective shield and is thus able to protect all those she loves from the attacks of the Volturi. She puts up her shield and says that she can "feel Jane's fiery darts" hitting the shield. First tentatively. Then, when Jane realizes that her mind games are not working, Bella feels a full on assault against her shield. Then, when Alec begins his attack, Bella sees it like a mist or a fog creeping around and over her shield, looking for a break, a weak spot to seep through.

Oh MY goodness! I so see Satan attacking just like this! Sometimes I feel him shooting darts at me, unrelenting and forceful. Other times, it is as if he is creeping around, waiting, watching, looking for a weak moment to slip in. I also have a shield of protection (one better than Bella's). Ephesians 6:16 says

 take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

How about that?

Like I said, this is really nothing new. I just really, really like the imagery. (You don't get it in the movie, you have to read the book.) I have experienced Satan's fiery darts and felt him slip into my mind like a fog.

There are other things that I took away from Twilight, Like how Bella was willing to give up her soul to be with Edward and how easy it was for me to read two thousand four hundred and some-odd pages of Twilight, but have a hard time reading my Bible thru in a YEAR.

But those are posts for another day.