Jabberwocky (Part Two)

In chapter one of Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, Alice happens upon a Looking-Glass Book. At first, she taken back by the strange language that she does not recognize. Then she realizes that she must hold the book up to a mirror in order to read the words. “Jabberwocky” is “the poem that Alice read.”

If you read the poem, you may be scratching your head. What a strange bit of writing! Even as Humpty Dumpty later explained to Alice what the words in the poem meant, both Alice and the reader are still wondering, What in the world is that all about?! It’s all nonsense!

That’s the way I feel about my life so often. Why did that happen? or What’s the point of this? are both questions I ask myself frequently. The other day I slipped up and told my mom, “Hindsight is 50/50.” She corrected me, “I think you mean it’s 20/20.” I tried to cover my obvious folly by explaining, “Sometimes when you look back on certain events or decision, you’re not sure if they were right or wrong. Hindsight is 50/50.”

The more I think about that—Hindsight is 50/50—the more I think it’s true. Even after all is said and done, life may not make any sense. The events in our lives occur randomly. We cannot judge whether or not we made the right choice. Just like Alice was baffled by the poem “Jabberwocky,” nonsense is just too difficult for me to figure out.

For me, “Jabberwocky” stands for nonsense, a monster that needs to be cut down. I don’t necessarily want to be free from pain and discomfort—those help us grow. I do, however, want to hold on to Jesus in the middle of chaos. I want him to slay all the chaotic thoughts waging war against my mind. In some weird way, “Jabberwocky” reminds me that only Christ can make sense of this mess.