Saturday mornings at Betty Amundson’s house in Shelly, MN.
One of my favorite times of the week.
“Good News Club.”
Betty Amundson told the best stories.
A bunch of us little kids would squirm and elbow and squeeze into her living room so we could hear her tell us stories of “Good News.” Bible stories that taught us about God, his miracles, and ordinary people who did some really cool things.
(Just think about this for a minute…as a child, hearing a story about a shepherd boy named David who liked to play the harp who killed a giant with a slingshot. And then he cut off the giant’s head. Now that’s a story!)
And Betty used flannelgraph. You know, those colorful pieces of felt that brought the people, the lions, the ark, the desert, the rainbow to life right in front of your eyes. It was mesmerizing.
My favorite part?
How the stories ended.
Even today, the movies or TV shows I watch really need to have a happy ending. (So not real life, right?)
If the movie ends sadly, I make up my own ending. The couple gets back together again. The woman is healed from cancer. The family stays together. Nobody really died; the sequel will prove that. Everybody lives happily ever after…in my endings.
But you and I both know, that’s not how things go. Right?
Real life happens.
Bad things happen to good people.
There is sickness and break-ups and sadness.
AND…
There is a God who is bigger than all that icky stuff.
There is a God who can help us destroy the giant that threatens our peace, hope, or life.
The Good News is still The Good News…
God loves you so much “He’d rather die for you than live without you“ (Max Lucado).
And He will never leave your side.
Perhaps your “real life” has more desperation and pain than you’d like.
You don’t see a happy ending in your future.
You aren’t fighting one giant, you’ve got an army of giants coming at you!
May I encourage you to remember that God knows your story.
“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord,
‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
(Jeremiah 29:11)
Take your eyes of the messiness, the pain, and how big your giant seems, and look into the eyes of The One Who Loves You Most.
Feeling alone? He is with you.
Feeling weary? He will hold you up.
Feeling scared? He will give you peace.
God has a slingshot with your name on it.
Take HIS hand and ask Him to show you how to take your next step. And the next step. And the next step…
Let HIM show you how to move your life’s flannelgraph pictures around to create your mesmerizing, colorful, beautiful story.
Jesus said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
