I am in the middle of editing and re-writing my story. There have been a couple of moments where I wanted to cry, to pull my hair out or just completely delete the story.
What stops me is the fact that my story is no longer in me, it is living and breathing on the many pages that I have printed.
It is a story I want to tell someone. I want someone else to pick up the pages that I have poured myself into. I want someone else to see the characters that have filled my thoughts and have harassed me for years to tell their tale.
But there is an art to storytelling.
As I began to read over my story, I began to see the repetitions, mistakes, unnecessary parts of my writing and like a butcher I have chopped up my story. At first it was painful and I did it tentatively. But now I feel like a surgeon , skillfully cutting open my story, taking out all the things that are wrong and sewing it back up again.
Sorry, that was a pretty gruesome analogy, but the role of editing is to take a step back and see what works and what doesn’t. Characters have been falling by the wayside, whole chunks have been deleted or saved for a different story. But slowly and surely, my story is taking its final form (until of course I pass it on to an actual editor that is).
However, the story I want to tell is nothing compared to the story I have been told through God’s word, the Bible.
God is the master storyteller.
Through the many different writers, books and people who make up the Bible we witness God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
There are so many things to consider when we read God’s word. Things like, context, intended audience, purpose and even trying to remember a few key verses that it can seem so daunting when we pick up the Bible.
Instead, I would like to ask you a simpler question. What story is God telling you?
Is it about his love? His faithfulness? His goodness or victory? Is he showing you through the many flawed people that he is good and worthy to be praised? Is he reminding you that he is with you even in the midst of the storm? Is he instructing you? What promises does God keep bringing up?
The bible is fascinating and amazing. I am struck that even though I have read some sections many times, there is a nugget of truth to be mined. It is meant to sustain us in this life and we must always keep in mind that:
Which means that we are to be shaped and moulded every time we read it and how can we not be humbled by the story of salvation in Jesus Christ.
It is incredible that God would communicate in this way. He is close to us in His word, even if we feel like He is far away.
One of my favourite verses about Jesus comes at the end of the Gospel of John.
How incredible is that? I love John’s perspective on Jesus and it reminds me that he cannot be contained in our p.c. version of him. He is so much more than we allow him to be. (I am speaking more to myself here)
As a writer, all I can really hope for is that my small story will mean something to someone else.
But in God’s word I find and have everything I need to see me through the good and the bad times. It is the source and Paul encourages Timothy to remember that:
What story is God telling you today?
Writing, Reading, Living 