THE STORY OF 'US'!

Just watched the final episode of "How I Met Your Mother".  Of course, the finale could never compare to the esteemed tv series ending of "Mash"!  Yet it is a sad thing when we face change with things in life left behind in the context of memories.

Our lives are in the form of story.  There is the beginning, the subsequent chapters, and the ending.  Unlike a book, we don't have the luxury of staying on one page for too long or to put a bookmark until we decide to revisit.  The story must begin and progress, moving sometimes smoothly into the next body of text or being thrown into the emotional saga of another chapter.  Story has joy, intrigue, sorrow, laughter, tears, and conflict.  Everyone has multiple plots because our lives interact with various characters.  These create the narratives that continue from page to page.

Often we go back and revisit prior chapters; wishing we could change them.  If we could, then the story wouldn't be the same...we would not be the same.  If Jennifer Cavaleri had been cured of Leukemia, "Love Story" would not have had the heart-wrenching effect that is timeless today.  Perhaps, changing the gender of Harry Potter....would not have quite the impact either.  How would the intimacy with God and the ability to forgive be achieved...if the little girl that befell evil in "The Shack" had not happened?  All the supernatural, the personal spiritual journey, and outcomes could not relate the same tale.  They would become entirely different!

We cannot go back and edit our lives.  There is something to be said about proofreading our future though.  We can decisively choose many things...and events that are beyond our control...can still choose our reactions.  Omitting and ripping out pages we don't like or wished never to have experienced would leave us an incomplete work.

Sad as they are, changes are necessary for the progression of the manuscript of our lives.  Marriages, babies, divorce, college, careers, grandchildren, unemployment, aging, church, reunions, holidays, milestones, and death are all part of the 'Story of Us'.

The great thing for the Christian though....is the ending...that last chapter is not final-----IT'S NEVERENDING!!   The story continues with God's Editing.  He has rewritten every line to a climax of unprecedented highs...that never decline or wane!!  The tears of sorrow will not dampen the cheek, and the pains of life shall not exist!  Darkness and evil fade away!  All things are become new!  We are works in progress that are authored by the Creator of all that is; whose literary excellence is unmatched on any bestseller list!!