Storytime

All of us have a story. Many of us love to hear a one. Some of us have written our story into Memoirs and others still have their story to tell. We have used story to influence, inspire and teach and we continue to share them. We have done so since the beginning of time. Originating in the 13th Century were people called griots. These storytellers or entertainers from Ancient Africa used praise, songs and poems or music to share oral tradition.

They are still active today among the Mande peoples and more predominant in northern West Africa - both male and female. They are the counterpart to the European minstrel and in Ancient Africa were referred to as jeli or griot. Be careful, not to mix the letters and you will see that groit is Haiti’s most loved dish! however, a griot is a living archive of people’s traditions. Alex Haley references griots in his novel, “Roots”. Lawrence Hill’s main character is a jeli in his novel “The Book of Negroes” Pelagie Gbaguidi is a contemporary artist who is also referred to as a griot. Even the Trinidadian poet and musician Anthony Joseph named the first song on one of his albums, Griot.

In Indigenous culture, “knowledge keepers” or storytellers have to be trained, apprenticed and given the right to share knowledge through stories. They share history, practical skills, customs and values to pass on to the next generation. The ultimate storyteller was Jesus who taught his disciples and others by using parables. But the greatest story every told, was not just a book written in 1989 or a movie by that title which was a retelling of Jesus’ life in 1965; but the true account of Jesus’ ascension into heaven where he is seated at the right hand of God waiting to return to earth. If you haven’t heard the greatest story every told, it’s available from four different perspectives in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They are worth the read and worth retelling, sharing and teaching.

Mark 4:33

With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it;

Matthew 13:34

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable.

Questions

Neil Gaiman is a wonderful storyteller, writer and the author of Calendar of Tales. In 2013, he launched twelve questions as writing prompts for twelve hours on his Twitter account. He based his stories or tales on his favorite responses and wrote the tales within three days. They are available to listen to at: https://soundcloud.com/a-calendar-of-tales

The questions are rather interesting because if they were the same ones asked in 2020, the answers, I believe would have everything to do with the pandemic. Here are the questions. You can answer them for yourselves, but to add more intrigue, joy, fascination, mystery and challenge, try NOT to think about COVID and answer them with imagination, humor and creativity.

Why is January so dangerous? What’s the strangest thing that ever happened to you in February? What historical figure does March remind you of? What’s your happiest memory of April? What’s the weirdest gift you’ve ever been given in May? Where would you spend a perfect June? What’s the most unusual thing you’ve seen in July? If August could speak, what would it say? What’s something you lost in September that meant a lot to me? What mythical creature would you meet in October? What would you burn in November? Who would you like to see again in December?

We are creatures of curiosity and inquiry. We like to know why. We like to ask questions. Lately it seems, that some of our answers have been wavering in the grey zone and there are, like the prompts above, no right answers. That’s why it is so reassuring to know that Jesus is the answer and has the answers for us.

Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).

SURRENDER

Get out the check list: You had the trip planned and the holiday booked; the job promotion was within your grasp and your finances secure; you finally got your parents settled in their retirement home for senior living; the kids were off to college or university or had been launched from home; life was falling into place and there weren’t too many worries about tomorrow. Then out of nowhere - a world pandemic that stopped humanity in its tracks and continues to veer people off life’s course - happened. It sounds like a scene from a dystopian novel - no, it’s reality these days.

Business are closing; people are filing for bankruptcy; airports and resorts are virtually empty; senior homes exclude visitors; school is on-line and life if full of stress for many as families try to cope or fall apart. Just watch the news for distressing situations. This is reality these days. How do we cope?

Breath - take a deep breath of acceptance, that surrendering sigh of the soul telling yourself that everything is going to be alright. The future is going to happen regardless of $50 or $50 million in our bank accounts; the earth is still revolving around the sun for yet another day of glorious sunrises and sunsets. The waves still crash against the sandy shores of the oceans and learning and experiences will still happen in our lives. Babies will be born with a future of possibilities and friends and family members will bid goodbye to this world when their time has come.

Why do we think we can continue to haul around the burdens of care on our weary shoulders, worrying about what’s next and fretting our hours away? We can soften our souls by living for today - in the present moments - accepting the parts of our lives as they exist for these moments in this time. Easy? Never Possible? Yes! Resist change? Accept and surrender. It doesn’t mean we have to stop living, thinking or planning. We just need to ask the Creator of the Universe for the strength, power and mind-set to get through the daily struggles or troubles and trust that in Him, everything is gonna be okay.

Matthew 6: 25, 34

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

STIR MY SOUL

Music touches the core of our being and vibrates our souls. It can be loud and abrasive pounding notes into our veins; it can make us weep tears when we remember certain moments. Our feet may want to dance or we may want to plug our ears; but music is a language that crosses all barriers. Even nature shares the rhythms of the world by blowing wind scattering leaves to the soothing sound of a clear brook bubbling. Often the birds join the chorus and even the rocks cry out.

I played in a band growing up and I still play the piano. I loved the synchronicity of the instruments and my fingers searching for the notes as they ran over the keys. Yet, there were times when my clarinet would squeak a rusty note or I would hit an A sharp when it should have been a B flat chord. Being in tune and harmonizing is like the balance in our lives; but we will all have moments in our sweet melodies with the wrong note or playing off key.

I like to think that we are all individual notes in this great musical composition of life. God is the conductor and He orchestrates the flats, sharps, the majors and minors scales and determines the beat of our lives - our very hearts! What a concerto when the melody of our world is in synch. What a sound of joy in the music of our lives; sour notes and all!

So cry out in song and let your voice be heard above the messy noise and blaring trumpets. When others are beating their own rhythms, find yours and find those calms of rest in the music. Let the cadence of your song be catchy so others will share your enthusiasm. Even if your song is mournful, help or uplift a soul in his or her dark hour. What kind of music is in your story these days?

Ephesians 5: 15-19

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,

sacred moments

I received news last week that my elderly aunt has just gone into a hospice to live out her remaining days. When I think about her, the one thing that keeps coming to my mind is her exuberant love of life, her stories and her resiliency. She truly epitomizes Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ penned words: It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth - and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up - that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.

Because nothing is permanent, we shouldn’t be stressing about things we have no control over because no matter what the situation is - things will change. Over a lifetime we will suffer hardships and even though our world seems a bit stormy now, it can’t keep raining forever. Life is tough. We need to, like my aunt often did, laugh, tell our stories, make others smile, encourage one another and above all, love each other like it is our last day on planet earth.

I recently read a story about a couple who had been in a relationship for about five years. They were in separate rooms in their one bedroom apartment just before Christmas. She hollered from one of the rooms to her now husband, “What do you want for Christmas?” He had been working full time, taking part-time university classes to finish his degree and volunteering as part of a youth mentor program and was tired. He said, “All I really want is a break.” Three weeks later was Christmas. He was unwrapping a very heavy shoebox and after getting through the mountain of duct tape and several layers of wrapping paper, he had his very own... brick. She told him, “I really didn’t understand what you wanted it for, but you sounded so sure of it. So here you go!” Lots of laughter and to this day, the brick sits on his desk. Every time he is overwhelmed or feeling like he’s taken on too much, he looks at that brick, picks it up, has a little laugh, and puts it back so he can carry on.

Perhaps we need to experience the sacred moments in our ordinary days when we stop and pick up our “brick”. What are those moments, those people, those objects, those verses, those memories that remind us to keep fighting?

“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:12

ocean of life

“The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers. LIttle we see in nature that is ours. We have given our hearts away…” William Wordsworth

Just because the page of the calendar turned from one year into the next, we think that by that action, it’s wiping out the troubles from last year. In fact, we need to realize that all our world problems, the pandemic, economic and political crises are still here with us in the New Year. How do we look to optimism when we are still surrounded by “the world” and its hardships, cynicism and despair?

I recently watched the Pixar movie, “Soul”, a delightful depiction of a man’s soul searching journey. In the film, there is a story told that spoke volumes because it exemplifies many of our lives. It goes like this: Two fish - a younger one and an older one - are swimming in the ocean side by side. The smaller fish says: “I’m trying to get to the ocean, but I keep swimming in this water and just can’t seem to get there,” to which the older fish replies, “This IS the ocean.” Oh such reflection in those words!

We are in this ocean of life. Some are swimming against the rip-tides and fighting against the currents; others are being carried away on the waves and floating with no horizon in sight and yet others are searching for the wonders below the surface. Life is right before us and we don’t even notice it. Why can’t we enjoy where we are right now - in the moments - instead of looking beyond where we are right now? The wonders are here before us.

So, drive with your windows down and smell the air or feel the wind in your face. Hold the hand of a child, a lover, a parent or a friend. Step on the lush grass, a crunchy leaf or crusted snow and listen to the sounds of nature’s chorus serenade you. Stop and gaze at the sun as it rises to meet the day or tucks away for the night but not before it displays the changing colors in the dusk. Close your eyes as you taste the sweetness on your tongue or let your taste buds tingle with that morsel in your mouth. Smile or say an encouraging word to the impatient or downcast soul slouched or agitated in the line at the grocery store. Think of all the simple joys in a day that don’t cost a cent. Practice one a day - there are over 300 of them left in 2021 and trade your grumpy for grateful; your dismay for delight in the great ocean of life.

“The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns; where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy…. You crown the year with your bounty and your carts overflow with abundance.” Psalm 65: 8, 11