SCRIBE

SCRIBE

PRACTICE: Who would you choose to write the opening lines to your life’s story?

There is a certainty about a book…from the first page you know that there will be a last page, an ending and to be a story there must be a struggle, a primary character and a villain. The thing about a book when one picks it up, one may have an idea of what the book is about. One can read the first few pages, go to the last chapter, read it but have no clue of how characters got to those final pages. It is only in reading the book that one meets the hero/heroine, villain and embrace the struggles of each. It is in the reading of the book that one can gain insight into how it may be applicable to the reader.

There is a certainty about life. When one is born (first paragraph of first chapter), you know (well maybe not you but someone knows) that you will die (the end). The final chapter will happen. What happens between day 1 and day 30,000 (average life expectancy), is dependent upon you and me -the main character.

I am the author of my storybook. I am the heroine/hero. I am the villain. And my decisions are often the fodder for the struggle. Others (family, teachers, spouses) can occupy significant roles in my book and for a time seem like they are the primary character, but they never are. The relationships of life enhance the present and inform the future but at some point, my story continues without their physical presence.

My life’s story as it is being written may appear chaotic, unfocused and the story line unclear. There are times when I have allowed others to usurp my lead role. That too is a part of the struggle. All books are not best sellers, and all authors are not great writers. Some books tell a compelling story but are written by a ghost writer. Some of the best stories are oral and may never be written but repeated generationally.

Regardless of how my book is written, or my story told – regardless of the location, struggles faced or the heroes/heroines that enter and exit my narrative – I am ultimately responsible for what the final chapter looks like. The ending is only going to be as good as what happened to me, through me and how I handled it. As the main character, I want to exit having exemplified what it looks like to have lived life without reserve, without retreat, and without regret.

Psalm 45:1

PONDER THIS THOUGHT --- Good stories are only as good as the lesson taught.