From a Coldplay song.
Friday night our youth group went to a 'youth rally' at another church in the city, and while the turnout was less than expected and I was mildly disappointed with the speaker, he did say a few things that proved thought-provoking.
Just a side note: The reason I was disappointed is because I find that people who speak to youth tend to just address the same topics over and over. Growing up in the church and in a youth group as I have, I've heard so many people talk about youth in pain and youth who contemplate suicide and cut and do drugs and etc that I'm tired of it. I'm not saying these issues aren't problems, but I've become frustrated with the way messages to youth more resemble pep talks to think positive and step out of the rut than anything really spiritually significant.
This particular message was chiefly a pep talk, but the thing that stuck out to me about it was when he said that God wants to takes your broken pieces and put them back together, and make your life mean something, essentially. The reason this intrigued me is because it fit with an idea I've had for a while: as humans, we come up with stories, we write books, we tell about things that have meaning and climax and symbolism, and I think that one of the possible underlying reasons we do this is because we want our lives to have meaning. We wish our lives meant something the same way the lives of the people we write about mean something. We want the assurance that our lives, day after day, are not just a progression of humdrum existence that will never mean anything or change anything. So in a sense, creating stories and alternate worlds is like creating the reality we want for ourselves.
So when he talked about God wanting to put the pieces together, it made me think of the plot of a story. Aimless circumstances stuck together, and characters growing, to make a coherent whole. I think God wants to give our lives a plot, so we're always looking toward the climax.
I'm curious for thoughts on this one, so please do comment :D
3 comments:
hey sweetie. just an offshoot...
there is a whole new trend in biomedical research around narrative storytelling. we are learning that our health is a story that we tell and re-tell, in order to make meaning of it. you nailed it with that observation. it's fascinating, isn't it. check out linda clarke's work at dalhousie faculty of medicine--medical ethics branch. she has done a lot of interesting research into storytelling and also tells them wonderfully. she is training doctors and the rest of us in health to ask people for their story, as a way of learning about them.
i agree that it is how we make and find meaning, by listening to and telling the stories of our lives. i can't wait to tell your new cousin the story of her. maybe you can teach her about writing them!
you write beautifully, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I definitely think that's part of the allure of stories - I also think that in creating stories, we are admitting a dissatisfaction with this world, and a longing for another one; kind of what CS Lewis wrote, along the lines of "the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world"
Amy - I loved your blog and the comments that you got were excellent!
"We want the assurance that our lives, day after day, are not just a progression of humdrum existence that will never mean anything or change anything." My sister does good works constantly and when you ask her why, she says "I want to make a difference". I admire her.
Humdrum? In the eye of the beholder, I think. Life is so full of riches - all laid out in front of us.
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