What Chapter are You In?

We have all had those books that we can’t seem to put down. The plot is thick, the main character is about to make a discovery, the truth is about to be told. You just know if you place the book down it will drive you nuts not knowing what will happen next, and so you keep reading as the time slips away. Then there are the books that aren’t that great but still need to be read because then you can move on to the next one in hopes that it will be better. Over the years I have had plenty of both.

Reading is a way to pass the time but what if the book was about your life? What chapter would you be in right now? I love to think about my kids that are in grade school on up to high school. They have so much going on but their lives are just starting. Their lives would be like a mystery novel in which you know the plot but there are so many twists and turns that you become captivated by what could be coming up. Each one has their own story to tell, with each chapter influenced by the world around them. The story becomes more of a living breathing book vs. one that is just pages between covers.

As we grow and mature so do our stories, but the places and events that have happened previously color what is happening now. This is what helps bring the story to life. But what if the plot as we know it starts to get lost. We get so busy, we start out on a certain path that changed somewhere down the line. We became someone we don’t know and lose what we thought we knew. When I was younger I knew for certain that I would be a Christian, who went to college and had a family after I graduated. I did things my way, and thought I knew what was best. As I matured and had accomplishes and struggles the storyline changed. I wanted so badly for the story, the plot to stay the same but experience, people and the world created new chapters in which new adventures awaited. The vibrancy of the words were created by the experiences of the past.

If we saw the people around us as stories being told vs. people to be judged, would we desire to keep reading or toss the book aside because we don’t find it interesting. Ohh the impact this could have! Some people could be as simple as a children’s book with a moral at the end of it, while others are as complicated as a textbook. The world is our bookstore. We browse the shelves picking what we find interesting, so that we can find a place to start reading. My favorite bookstores are the ones in which cozy little nooks are created. They are there to help us get introduced to the story in front of us.

As I finished the most recent book in my Kindle library I pondered the fact that the characters in the story would be great people to know. Though they were fictional they became a part of my life for a short time. I dedicated time to them, I cried and laughed with them. I felt the tension and the pain they dealt with. Their struggles influenced me, even though it was for a short amount of time. My world moved forward without me as I moved forward with the characters of the book. I hated the people they hated and loved those they loved. I wanted to protect who they protected and got to be the “fly on the wall” of their lives. The story made the characters come to life. Our stories make us alive to others. Others come alive to us more when we hear their stories. When we know people’s stories, what made them who they are, it helps us to be who we are, and vise versa.

Who is in your library? What stories did you choose into your life? Did these stories, these chapters cause you to not want to put the book down, or did they make you realize the story is not for you? If the plot feels lost at the moment, it may be time to put the book down but only for a moment so that someone else’s story can help get yours back on track. Until next time:

Sometimes we lose the plot of our own story, sometimes for years. We’re not sure who we are or where we’re going or what the point is.

Then we run across someone who helps us pick up the thread of our narrative again.

Be patient. Some plot lines take a while to make sense

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