OPORD #2

What is the joy of story telling? Stories are what speak to a fundamental and deep aspect our hearts. We tell stories to one another as a means of being understood and conveying a wide range of thoughts and emotions. With stories we are able to transcend individual human experience and move to a realm of possibilities and creativity. Each story is unique and stands on its own, but all have essential elements that capture our hearts from the beginning, “Once upon a time...” These words still ring true. It is by the vehicle of stories that we learn and grow. Our own personal stories we share with others. Sometimes for a good laugh and others as a warning. The truest nature of my heart lies in this aspect of life. Stories have captured every part of being since I can remember. I love hearing them, reading them, or seeing them take place. Watching as the drama unfolds before me as the hero gets ready to face off against the Villain.

Stories present questions to our mind that we other wise would not have been exposed to. What does a mermaid who wants to be a human do when confronted by her father, who is none less than the king of all the mer folk. Aladdin, finds himself trapped in the cave of wonders, betrayed and alone, but three rubs of a dirty old lamp and his entire life is changed forever. These are the kinds of things that allow us to escape from our dreary realities and begin to imagine a different life. Not a life that is impossible, but a life that we were promised and never received. How many stories have we read that deal with a “paradise lost”? It's not just another story, it's THE story. It starts off with something good and right, like the relationship King Mufasa, has with his son Simba, but right in the middle of when a boy needs his father most their relationship is destroyed by Simba's, evil uncle, Scar. What makes this betrayal much like our own is that we are made to carry its burden. Scar, deceives Simba, into believing that it was his fault that Mufasa, died. Confused and removed from the protection of his father, Simba, runs as far away as he can believing that this is the only thing he can do. Is this not were most of us have been?

Called to carry the burden of our pasts and runaways of who we were meant to be. Once befriended by an easy going duo of a Meerkat and a warthog young Simba learns how to live in the moment with little or no care at all for the past or the future. This allows him to continue all the way to adulthood without once having to confront what happened in his past. It's at this point in the story that we begin to see the toll that this is taking on Simba and he returns to pride rock after being mentored into the truth of his pain by an old baboon. A story is meant to be a lot more than words on paper. People come to watch all sorts of movies, why? How many Peter Parkers of the world just wish for once they could save the day AND get the girl? How many young girls long to be the princess of their own stories and rescued by a prince. I can not tell you how many young men truly want to be heroes and how many young women long to be worth rescuing. It is important to both genders. A man needs to know in the core of his being that he has what it takes to succeed and save the day if that's what it comes to. A women is most satisfied when she is desired and made to feel like she is worth fighting for. There is a story in each of hearts that needs to be satisfied and so we head out on the journey of life looking for ways to make our “dreams come true”.

However, “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10. Christ is making a clear statement that He is the hero of every story because He has come to restore that which we have had stolen from us. How many people come to you everyday and say, “ Hello, I have come to give you life. Would you like some?.” This is the simplicity and glory of the gospel. I believe C.S. Lewis said it best when he said, “ A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.

The day is saved and we have our happily ever afters the only question remaining is, who will you tell?