Everything about this weekend’s Larp was exactly what we could hope for: perfect weather, tremendous attendance, a fun story, a formidable villain, delicious food, and all of the other delights we’ve come to know and love. However, Friday night there was a moment that stopped time and brought the essence of the event into beautiful clarity.
I was the only one who noticed.
No one else noticed because the moment occurred in my head as I stood, leaning on my Shepherd’s crook, in Fairy Village watching Falton’s citizens eat and drink and celebrate together.
Faces were lit in the warmth of candles and campfires. Light music was playing, but it was the music of conversation that filled my ears. Friends who’ve grown up together (and friends who didn’t) were all laughing and talking together. Some were quiet, others boisterous, but their conversation blended to create an aural warmth as real and as glowing as the flickering flames all around us.
Were these citizens of Falton, a land suffering under a terrible sickness, or citizens of Ohio, a land where turmoil and trouble also abound? I could not tell the difference. These were citizens of Grace, beneficiaries not only of a game rule that says “be willing to sacrifice a personal win to make it fun for others,” but also beneficiaries of many graces from God. I wasn’t surrounded by perfect people or perfect fellowship, but I was surrounded by a perfectly delightful wonder that is seen too little in this world.
I was surrounded by people who love. People who know that the Thing That Makes The Difference is the fact that there is One Who Loved Us First, and Who Loves Us Most. I was surrounded by conversation and light. I was surrounded by the visual warmth of an enchanted meeting place, but also by the lasting warmth of relationships that help reflect in a tangible, delightful way, a reality that will never end.
We love because He first loved us.
Can that eternal love be reflected in swords made of duct tape, costumes born from thrift stores, and costumes made from scratch? Can living a story together amongst trees and hills and shouts of “Huzzah!” have meaning beyond the fictitious rescue of a fictitious town?
It most certainly can.
It means that in Falton, we get to taste of the adventure that lies ahead of us. It means we get to experience the joy of fellowship. It means we have a chance to pause by the campfire and soak in the warmth.
It means we can be thankful, and we are blessed.
Very profound. Thank you. It’s always hard trying to explain LARP to outsiders and you have hit upon the one element that is the key to its success and the most difficult to explain when you’re telling people you run around in the woods with duct tape and foam weapons!
Larp: more foolish things to shame the wise.
Amen!
Tears are streaming down my face….tears are good for the soul when they are invoked by such words as these.
Thank you.
Thank you!
Glad to see somebody illuminating a moment that we’ve all seen at different times, in different places, with the same fine people.
Thanks! And they are certainly fine people.
read aloud in Stryder and Queen Anne’s basement. Very well said, Quest Sean Mark
Thanks! Did you use your Bread accent?
Wow! Thank you for so elegantly capturing the moment.
Aw, thanks! Thanks for all you all have done to PROVIDE the moment!
Huzzah!
Huzzah!