Tell me
Tell me can you tell me
That the page will turn itself
And take us somewhere else?
- Deas Vail
It got me thinking about our life as a story book. You know the ones you read when you were little and now you help little ones read yourself? I love reading, and I love reading to my precious nephews and niece. Do you know what it's like to read to a 2 year old though?
Well here is a reminder.
They run up to you so excited, favorite book in hand. "Please read to me!" they cry. You oblige because what could be better than having that little warm body climb on top of you to sit and listen to a tale or two. You get all snuggled in on the couch and read the title. You open the book to page one and start (in your most animated voice) to relay whatever story about frogs or shoes or bad days they picked out. Page two is pretty smooth, although they do seem to be a little squirmier...By page three you have barely gotten the words out of your mouth before they are turning to the next page. Page four you get about five words in and - boom - page turn. By page six you have stopped reading altogether because you have figured out that to them "story time" means flying through a book so fast you can barely see pictures, let alone read words.
I feel like I do this in My Life: The Story Book. God is the author, of course. I want so badly to know what comes next in my story that I start flipping the pages trying to get to page twenty five, not really focusing on what is happening on page twenty. I am so concerned with what my "happy ending" will be that I lose what God is trying to teach me in the middle. You can't have an end to a book without a middle. If you skip the middle, the end doesn't even make sense.
I need to start letting the pages turn themselves. I need to live in the here and now and not in some future that I am not even promised. I am not promised tomorrow, only today.
"The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more." - Psalm 103:15-16
Today I will start reading my story one page at a time.
What a beautiful way of putting it! I love the analogy. Perfect timing to slow down right now and be grateful.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Especially a great reminder at this time of year when things seem to get rushed! I have a tendency to want to skip some pages too but it's those middle pages that make the ending worth it!
ReplyDeleteWe must be in the same wavelength. I wrote about time recently. About not rushing through it but living the moment and all it has to offer.
ReplyDeleteso well said, heather! i feel like i've seen you really evolve as a writer :) (is that weird? i feel like blogging has evolved my own writing, too!) i love it!
ReplyDeleteGrace, not weird at all! I don't consider myself a "writer" but this blog has definitely honed my writing skills!
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