In the Middle of the Story
I work as a librarian, perhaps one of the most suitable positions for me. It is my job to remember stories. To read them, re-tell them and let them live again.
Often we may result to reading tales crafted by other hands to escape our own narrative.
We try not to think about our own stories.
Within the paper and ink we find order. Sentences with punctuation. Chapters in numerical order. Plots that twist and thicken till that very last page where somehow it all works out.
But maybe that's not what our lives look like.
You could take the route I've tried, checking out books about "how to know God's will" and trying to make long-term plans to soothe the questions of ever-nosy relatives. But chances are, you too will come up empty.
Now I'm beginning to see some things a bit clearer, perceive them in a different sense.
I think we want to believe we're the authors of our own stories. That we can direct our paths, that we can somehow obtain control, that we've got to have our picture-perfect ending graphed out - chapter and verse.
But we are not after all, the authors.
We are characters - characters in a story bigger than any of us can begin to grasp. "You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." (Psalm 139:16)
Why does this make us uncomfortable? Because we have to face the fact that we don't have control. Surprise! Not a bit.
I wonder how much of our running away from God is a result of seeking to gain that coveted control.
Right now, we're in the middle of our stories. The part where life is twisting and turning, days are long and weeks are short. The things we dream of seem far off, until suddenly the scenery is changing again and we're plunged into new things.
Chapter falls into chapter, and truth be told - we're not sure where we're going. Villains arrive and tragedy strikes.......this is the thick of it. This is our life.
We may not know what the next page holds - be it mundane details, sudden sadness, the depths of love or an unanticipated adventure.
But we know Who is writing our story.
We know He is a God who finishes what He starts. He won't toss the manuscript of our lives into a file cabinet for later viewing. "...I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread," the Psalmist says. God is not passive in His character or His actions regarding us.
His plans for our lives are greater than any fear that lives in our hearts. So we learn to trust Him in the middle of story - in the middle of the mess, the unknown, the uncertainty.
We trust He is not finished with us yet.
Often we may result to reading tales crafted by other hands to escape our own narrative.
We try not to think about our own stories.
Within the paper and ink we find order. Sentences with punctuation. Chapters in numerical order. Plots that twist and thicken till that very last page where somehow it all works out.
But maybe that's not what our lives look like.
You could take the route I've tried, checking out books about "how to know God's will" and trying to make long-term plans to soothe the questions of ever-nosy relatives. But chances are, you too will come up empty.
Now I'm beginning to see some things a bit clearer, perceive them in a different sense.
I think we want to believe we're the authors of our own stories. That we can direct our paths, that we can somehow obtain control, that we've got to have our picture-perfect ending graphed out - chapter and verse.
But we are not after all, the authors.
We are characters - characters in a story bigger than any of us can begin to grasp. "You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." (Psalm 139:16)
Why does this make us uncomfortable? Because we have to face the fact that we don't have control. Surprise! Not a bit.
I wonder how much of our running away from God is a result of seeking to gain that coveted control.
Right now, we're in the middle of our stories. The part where life is twisting and turning, days are long and weeks are short. The things we dream of seem far off, until suddenly the scenery is changing again and we're plunged into new things.
Chapter falls into chapter, and truth be told - we're not sure where we're going. Villains arrive and tragedy strikes.......this is the thick of it. This is our life.
We may not know what the next page holds - be it mundane details, sudden sadness, the depths of love or an unanticipated adventure.
But we know Who is writing our story.
We know He is a God who finishes what He starts. He won't toss the manuscript of our lives into a file cabinet for later viewing. "...I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread," the Psalmist says. God is not passive in His character or His actions regarding us.
His plans for our lives are greater than any fear that lives in our hearts. So we learn to trust Him in the middle of story - in the middle of the mess, the unknown, the uncertainty.
We trust He is not finished with us yet.
Another beautiful post, Amanda!
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
Delete