The Story (So Far)

I just finished reading Don Miller's new book, "A Million Miles in A Thousand Years", and I have to say it's quite an amazing book. I've been wrestling with the whole idea of life and just how long it is. I mean I know it's more like a split second compared to eternity, but it's where I am now, and for me the thought of still being around sixty years from now terrifies me. Now, I'm not saying that in a suicidal context, but more of a, "what the hell am I going to do for the rest of my life" type of thing. I was always looking for that climax, that one event where my story would come to a head, and the rest of my life would be smooth and peaceful. I now realize that this will never happen, and as surprised as I am to say this, I'm so grateful that my story will never climax; it makes life so much more worth living. Don, talks about this a little bit in his book, how we're constantly looking for that next best thing and putting expectations on life and friends and God. I am constantly doing this, I'm always walking around with a million expectations jumping around in my head and it's almost never a productive thought. Whether it's wondering if today will be the day I finally win the lottery, to wondering if I'll stop a bank heist (yes, sometimes I really do think about things like that). These thoughts and expectations, I now know, have silenced the ones that really matter, like Daddy telling me, "today's the day I'm going to show you my love a little bit more", and I've ignored it and drowned it out with the droning of my own mind. I think the key to a happy life and knowing who God is and who we are, is letting go of expectations. It's about forgetting about looking for a climax, and joining in the adventure. There are stories going on all around us every nanosecond of every day, but we don't jump into these stories because we think, "nope, that's not part of my story arc; that's not my climax." I think we like to believe that we're the writers of our lives, when really we're just glorified editors of a story that's so much bigger and grander than anything we could ever comprehend. One of the things Miller says in his books is that, "we're all trees in a story about a forest", I love that. It just makes so much sense to me and for the first time I'm content with just being a tree in a story about a forest. I'm letting go of searching for a climax, and instead accepting my invitation into the adventures all around me. And I have to say, it's so good! So please, will you join me?