Serving the Plot

In writing classes, they’re quick to remind you that all things should serve the plot. Whether it’s a detail, conversation, or character, everything should point to the plot of the novel. It seems obvious, but writers often get distracted and wander off in directions that confuse or distract his or her readers. Great writers make sure all things serve the plot.

It’s advice that applies equally to our lives, but, like some writers, we forget and wander off in many directions. Plot-driven lives are clear, focused, and meaningful. Those living such a life say and do certain things that serve the plot, just as they refrain from conversations and actions that don’t.

Unfortunately, most of us either do not know the plot or get distracted. We end up living scattered lives and wander off distracted by what the crowd wants, our jobs require, or family expectations. Such a life is as confusing as it is frustrating.

Looking at all Jesus taught, he was determined to remind us of our life’s plot and offer examples of living plot-driven lives. Like dropping a centerboard helps a sailboat move forward, a plot-driven life heads in a specific direction. What we say and what we do serves the plot. 

I must confess I’ve not always known the plot. Even when I did, I wandered in different directions because of my distracted, scattered heart. Wanting to please others, wanting to make a name for myself and leave a legacy caused me to wander. While none of those motivations are bad, they’re all external and driven by a very needy ego. Until I stood back and asked what would serve God best, did I begin to understand the direction I was to take, the plot I wanted to serve. 

Questions: 

1.     Does your life have a clear plot or purpose?

2.     Does everything you do and say serve the plot?

3.     In what ways do you wander away, and what distracts you?

Happy Places

This week, I received a number of Instagram posts showing pictures of beautiful places with the caption, “My happy place.” There were pictures of beaches, camps, mountain sunsets, and even a pilot looking out above clouds. It was a fascinating collage, each of which filled a friend’s soul, but it made me wonder if everyone has such a place?

There are many places in which I’ve been happy. The most effective places involve nature in some way. Sitting beside a waterfall, walking beside a dramatic sea, watching a colorful sunrise or sunset are among my favorites. I once went to such a place and was filled with a happiness the likes of which I’d never felt. It made a lasting impression, and I tried to go back to the exact location so I could feel the same elation, but much to my surprise and disappointment, I sat on the very same rock, looking out at the very same view, and felt nothing. It was still beautiful. It just didn’t stir my soul as it once had. 

I remember a New York Times wine critic being asked what the best bottle of wine he’d ever had was. Given his access to priceless vintages, his answer surprised everyone. It was a bottle that anyone could find in a grocery store. He’d opened such a bottle while rowing on a lake on a misty evening with the woman who would eventually be his wife. Years later, they returned to the same lake and opened the same wine on one of their anniversaries, but it wasn’t the same. It had nothing to do with the wine, they learned.

So it is with happy places. The happiness comes from somewhere beyond mountains, sea, or wine. Certain places can open our hearts in wonderful ways, but the happiness lies elsewhere. It cannot be manufactured, manipulated, or bottled. Happiness is a gift, a gift wrapped in many packages. When given, we should receive it with grateful hearts, and not clenched fists. We should give thanks not to the gift, but the one who gave it, our true happiness.

 Extra Credit:

1.  Where is your happy place?

2. When you are there what is it that fills your soul so?

3. Is it the place, or where your heart goes when it’s there? 

Changing our Swing

June 3

Changing our Swing

He went to see a golf instructor to get help with his game. He was a functional golfer, as he liked to put it, but wanted to improve his game. The instructor identified a number of things he could improve. Shift your grip, he said, widen your stance, and focus on your rhythm. Under his watchful eye, the man was successful, but when he went off by himself to practice it was as if his entire game had unraveled.

I smiled as he told me his story, not because I took delight in his struggle, but because I knew what it was like to try to improve something and watch as things actually felt like they were coming apart. Most recently, it happened in my personal life. 

I began working with a wonderful therapist not long ago. She was a pro, someone told me, and I was eager to address things which were getting in my way of living an authentic, meaningful life. After listening to my story, she made suggestions. She challenged long-held beliefs, questioned stories I’d been telling myself, and poked and prodded me in uncomfortable ways. In her office, things made sense, but when I left to practice what we’d talked about it was as if I was losing my mind. Emotions I hadn’t felt in years resurface and it felt as if my inner life is unraveling.

“That’s what getting well is all about,” she told me. “It begins with the courage to try. It continues with making changes. Then, it’s about weathering the uncertainty of living life in new ways.” During a particularly rough day, I clung to her counsel and trusted the way I was feeling was a part of getting better. I wanted to return to my old ways so that the waters will settle, but that doesn’t lead to new life, so I carried on.

Extra Credit:

1.     When have you tried to make changes in your life? (e.g. at work, in a relationship, in your spiritual life)

2.     Did things feel like they got worse before they got better?

3.     Did you weather the storm, or return to the way things were before?