Storytime

There is a lot going on in the world today. I finally found some time to sit down and review the New York Times the other day. The past few weeks have been filled with far more introspection. I have been very bad about keeping myself aware of the world’s happenings. The following is a synopsis of the articles that caught my interest.

1) The resignation and exile of former president Jean-Bertand Aristide of Haiti.
2) The big Oscar hype and the after-party let downs.
3) Responses to The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson.
4) The war of words between Kerry and Edwards.
5) A temporary Constitution written for Iraq to take effect.
6) A custody struggle between two couples over an adopted 5 year old Chinese daughter. The Chinese family wants her back and the White parents want to keep her.

As ponder the nature of the stories I was interested in reading, I see a large variety. They range from international and national politics to the entertainment industry to local family struggles. Which of the above articles do you think left the deepest impression on me?

The answer is number six. If the reader wonders why they ought to ask me.

The point that strikes me about my reaction to that article over the others keeps in line with the honesty issues at hand in my last entry, this and the nature of stories. In this great information age we live in, we hear hundreds of stories everyday. These stories are told in seemingly endless mediums. We’ll hear the news on the radio as we wake up. We hear stories in class from our professors about the topic being taught. We hear stories at the movies portrayed in light and sound. We hear stories from our friends about the day’s happenings.

Late last week my friend reported stories about green polar bears in Singapore and ignorant Christian pilots calling his passengers crazy over the speakers for not knowing Christ. She read them on CNN.com.

In my New Testament class, I heard a story about how an Arab student memorized his chemistry book in order to take a test. The American professor, not being familiar with the Arab culture of memorization, assumed he was cheating. The issue went all the way to the dean’s office and at its climax, the student was asked to prove his innocence. He asked the professor to pick a page. The professor flips through the textbook, chooses a page, and the student proceeds to repeat the page word for word.

Last week I also saw The Passion of the Christ. That's quite a story isn't it?

Saturday afternoon I was reminded of a story back at home with a close friend that left me very angry and frustrated. Sunday night I had dinner with a friend and heard some good stories about her freshman experience in college.

A long time ago Jesus told a story about a son who squandered his inheritance and when he had nothing left, was forced to return home in shame. His father ran to him with gifts and rejoicing. He got grace instead of shame.

By the end of the day, we’ve consumed numerous stories. Most are probably forgotten. Others may be remembered for their humor. I’m beginning to think that the stories we keep in our heads the longest are the ones that touch a part of hearts and lives.

If we’re honest with ourselves, we could probably learn a whole lot about who we are just by paying attention to the types of stories we like to tell and the types of stories we tend to like to listen to or remember.

What are your favorite stories?

Current State of Spirit: Sad. It’s a simple word I don’t think gets used enough anymore, but it certainly suits me right now. There are a lot of things I wish I could change but I know I cannot. I just have to do what I know I can for now.