Yes, I've crossed over into the "Twilight" world.....

I didn't watch "Twilight" until it came out on DVD last year. The movie was not that great, and I failed to see what all the fuss was over. I went to see "New Moon" with a friend of mine last month. Everyone I knew (ok, almost everyone) was going, so I gave into peer pressure and jumped off the cliff. At the end of "New Moon", Bella and Edward plan to get married. Are you kidding? Marry a vampire? Everyone kept telling me to read the books, because there was so much of the story that didn't make it into the movie. So, that is what I did. I started with "Eclipse" to see how in the world Edward and Bella worked out marriage, then I just had to read "Breaking Dawn" for all the juicy (no pun intended) details. After reading the two books (in record time I might add); I went back to the beginning and read all of them. My friends were right, the movies don't do the books justice at all. Rarely do books make good movies. I had read all the reviews, I've even read some reviews from a theological perspective, and how the author, Stephanie Meyer worked her own Mormon faith into the story. At the end of the day, none of the reviews I read paint the series into what it really is. As far as matters of faith it is a deeply spiritual tale of love, hope, loyalty and the power of redemption. I didn't get the feeling that any particular faith played a role in the books. It was more of a universal tale of wanting to be loved, and finding the love you want; wanting to be known and longing to be accepted. The universal desire of every human heart.

It is, by all accounts a love story, much better than Romeo and Juliet, I might add. Edward Cullen (not to be confused with Rob Pattinson) is the best male character to come along in quite some time. The reason so many woman of all ages swoon over him is the way he loves Bella. With all the feminism junk of today, and all the bra burning of the past, woman still want to be loved in a way that only a real man can love them. We want men to be men! No sissy boys allowed (although, unfortunately that is what alot of men have become). Edward offers Bella his strength, his power, protection, loyalty, and all the while he shows enormous restraint when he is around her. Not wanting to hurt her in any way, the sheer will power it takes to be in the same room with her pales in comparison to anything I've ever seen. It makes a recovering alcoholic look tame.

For me personally, the role of Edward Cullen is its own story. All of us, no matter what faith we are or are not, have a strong desire to be loved, to belong, to take off our mask, and reveal our true selves to the world. We all have our own personal demons to control, our own monsters to keep at bay. Will someone love us if they really know who we are, what we are capable of, what we have done in the past, how we could hurt them if we get to close, can I stop hiding, will you love me anyway, can you see past the monsters? All those questions get answered for Edward. Bella loves him. It is the biggest surprise of Edwards long life. Its more than he ever expected and more than he deserves. In the end, Bella gives up her life of luxury, her humanity to be with him. She loves him so much, that she would enter into his world, feel the pain of darkness, the terror of what she has now become. I have never read a love story like it, and doubt I ever will again. It is a one of a kind tale, sort of.....

It is not the Christian story by any stretch of the imagination. But it does remind me in my own personal life and my own faith just how much Jesus loves the human race. Sinful, vile, evil people...capable of unspeakable acts of violence and hatred. At times we show no restraint to the evil inside us, and yet....he gave up so much (at least the human side of Jesus) to show how much he cared. How he longed for us to embrace the good, and leave the darkness behind. He loves us. With our mask off and all our monsters exposed....God says "come", "its ok, I know who you really are, you are mine".

I loved the books and I'm in love with the love story it tells. I'm a follower, and if it isn't clear by now, I'm totally Team Edward!!