tell me a story

dear emily,

there are few things i love more than a good story.  don't give me
a bunch of dates and battles to memorize; tell me the story of a
great battle, and i will remember every detail.  please don't beat
me over the head with a lesson about repentance from the
pulpit; give me a story about it from someone's life, and i will
be moved to repentance myself.

Jesus was the greatest storyteller of all.  He could have spent
all His time preaching and healing, but He seemed to love to
tell His story.  who could forget the one about the sower and the
seed or the unmerciful servant?  He reels us in about a poor
woman who loses her coin and then we understand how the
kingdom of heaven rejoices over a lost soul who is found.

the easiest way to reach the heart of a child is to tell him a story.
they can't resist a good one, and then their transparent, open
hearts soak in the goodness of the best ones. "the land of a rich
man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, 'what
shall i do, for i have nowhere to store my crops . . ."(luke 12:17)

you can read the rest of the story.

love,
lea

the prodigal's father

dear emily,

hans was sharing with me his perspective of the prodigal son.  it
was moving to understand the love the father demonstrated by
allowing his son to leave and then squander the fortune he had
worked a lifetime to share with him.

i guess, to a certain extent, every parent has to do that.  we birth
these precious babies, nurture them, and teach them everything
that is important to us.

then they decide what is important to them.

sometimes it feels like they are trampling on our hearts, but usually
it is just their stomping around the corral, hoping to jump the fence
and run their own race.

letting them go is an act of love as surely as rocking them to sleep
was.  believing that they are in the "palm of His hand," is an act
of faith.  rejoicing in the meantime is proof of my faith.

love,
lea

"though the fig tree does not bud and
there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

yet i will rejoice in the Lord,
i will be joyful in God my Savior."
habakkuk 3: 17-18

ps.  this is a repost from this time last year.