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To be at Green Gables with Anne
Anne Shirley. That spunky, freckled nose, carrot top (but don’t call her that to her face) hero to young girls (perhaps many old by now). L.M. Montgomery, author of the Anne of Green Gables books in which Anne is the protagonist, brilliantly created a character that almost all women can not only relate with, but also long to be (at least a little bit) like. Maybe it’s her confidence that’s sometimes gracious, and other times downright rude, but somehow always loveable. Her story is one of love – being pursued, but also pursuing relentlessly those that seemed most undeserving.
On our adventure to Prince Edward Island, I stood next to that little white picket fence, and gently ran my fingers along its worn wood. Looking up for a brief moment, I spotted an old apple tree in the distance and imagined Anne there with her friend Katherine Brooke, filling their baskets with apples and their ears with good conversation. Miss Brooke, that once miserly old maid has a much more softened look now – surely due to a softened heart. Their friendship was hardly that at all in the beginning, but with Anne’s consistent love toward Katherine that often felt messy, but always faithful, it broke Katherine. It crushed that calloused shell that she wore so tightly; so perfectly. And over time, what was revealed on the inside was a soft – almost glowing – woman who dropped that shield of false confidence to live in the reality of who she was made to be: being loved and loving others.
Blinking back into reality, I look back down at the fence I’m now leaning on and think about the constant and faithful love of Jesus that passionately and relentlessly pursued me until I broke. And everything I thought I was or wanted to be, fell away as I found my identity in Him: being loved so that I could love.
Here are pictures of the property that inspired L.M. Montgomery to write these books. Every girl deserves a chance to step where Anne stepped.
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