Simple Stories

When I was a little girl, my dad told bedtime stories. He didn't like reading them from books, so I was limited to his repertoire of three: Goldilocks & the Three Bears; The Three Little Pigs; and Little Red Riding Hood. From before I can remember until I was around 12 (when I logically decided I was "too old" for stories and teddy bears, and set both aside), those were the stories I could choose from.

I often wanted new stories. I tried to get daddy to read to me at night; I would tell him stories that I heard and ask him to tell them to me; I would even finish the stories for him to show him I knew them. But in the end, it always came back to those three stories. Looking back over the decades since I've heard one of them, I smile; those stories were the anchor of my childhood. In ways I could never understand at the time, the simplicity and purity of three stories around which bedtime centered was a gift.

That principle reflects a pattern in my life. A central core, which anchors me, and from which I can freely explore the world around me. I'm an admitted nerd; I love research and studies and books. We all have pitfalls to watch out for; one of mine is over-intellectualization. I could easily see myself being a philosopher or theologian - someone who takes the very life out of life by over-analysis.

And yet God, in His faithfulness, has consistently anchored me to simplicity. My dad's stories. My mom's aversion to politics and religion, and her simple, homespun wisdom that has gotten her through 6 decades despite very little formal education. The predictable Southern Baptist churches I grew up in. A husband who gets it right in his gut far before I get it right in my exegesis, and seems to instinctively land at the right action while I analyze the choices. Our church, Calvary Chapel, with its strong emphasis on verse-by-verse teaching of Scripture. Friends like you who go and do while I sit and ponder. These are the anchors that keep me tethered, that keep me from wandering too far afield, that remind me of truth and what really matters.

One of my constant prayers echoes Paul's desire for the Corinthians: I want to never be led astray from simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. And so, while I prepare to go work on my paper and do more research on an esoteric topic, I am thankful for all of you who remind me that it means nothing unless I bring it down to where the rubber meets the road. I can go out and research all the stories I want, but there are really just the basic ones that matter: the cross; the commission; the commitment. If I get those right, I'll be okay.

Somehow I think God is keeping me anchored until I do!