LIVING IN TRUTH

Some of my earliest memories---before the age of learning to read--are of being in bed and looking at comic books.  Momma was a firm believer in early bed times, but we were allowed to read---even if we couldn't read--we could take our comics to bed with us.  Fortunately we had a huge collection of comic books.  I looked at the pictures and made up the story as I went.




Fast forward--at warp speed---and my love for reading has continued.  One of my favorite genres is adventure stories.  Non-fiction adventure books almost always have pictures.  If you skip the verbiage, these hiking trips, mountain climbs, sailing trips, or any other form of physical adventures are one big party-with beautiful sights and memory making adventures.  Only when you read the words do you realize it was no party---it was hard work--often brutal conditions--and in general, a real pain.  We seldom take pictures of the trying--difficult times--we only want to immortalize the moments of beauty.


My last words on this subject, I promise, social media has lead us to believe most have beautiful lives--as evidenced by the pictures posted on the WWW. We look at the pictures and sigh and long for our lives to look like this.  Unfortunately, not all are writers and prefer to memorialize their lives by capturing the moment by picture.  They leave off the verbiage--the description of the moment and all the events surrounding getting to the moment.  The beauty of life is not captured in the well prepared and rehearsed still photo--but instead in the description leading to the hallmark moment.

I would bet money when you all saw my hiking trip pictures, you were amazed and envious.  The picture at the top of the mountain failed to capture the step by step moaning I did while getting up that mountain.  It also cannot possibly give you the sense of how I smelled after a few hours of dragging myself up that trail.  There is not enough deodorant in the world to mask that lovely aroma!  Fortunately the pictures I post are NOT scratch and smell.

If you saw us walking the boys to school any morning, you would smile and think what a beautiful family--how precious.  Yes--in that moment--you are correct.   What you did not see is the description of how this happened.  The two who were up before the chickens, the one who had to be bodily picked up and brought down the stairs still half asleep, the discussion of exactly what they might eat for breakfast and then the subsequent cajoling them to  eat their order, the struggle to get those teeth brushed and putting on shoes while they limply looked on.  The trial of getting them out the door is NOT always pretty!  The verbiage is always much more telling than the Kodak moment.  

All to say---take social media for what it is---the posting of the best of the best.  Truly a nano-second in the long hours of real life.  Smile and appreciate the offering, but remember the full story has not been told-and the messiness of life is the norm.  And in the messiness--real life is lived.

But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
John 3:21

8 comments

  1. A picture is worth a thousand words!! I love your truths, your honesty, and your heart!!! Be blessed!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the pictures, but cherish the words of the story more !
      Bless You, Sweet Julie!

      Delete
  2. Julie Keene said it : A picture is worth a thousand words!!

    You could have guessed the thousand words I uttered in the picture of me missing the nail and hammering my finger instead!

    Or when there was a great wasp in the shower with me and I protected my assets.

    Or when ... ... ...

    Yes, we had children's bedtime stories when we were young. I always worried about the stories we were told. For example Jack and the Beanstalk. You remember he climbed the beanstalk and found a monster or something. I always worried what would happen to him if he ate the beans. Would they grow inside him and have instant levitation? But then ... where would the monster be? Inside him? That's one great indigestion I tell you.

    And why didn't Goldilocks fit better locks on her door? And Show White and the seven dwarfs? As an accountant, you should know that six out of seven dwarves are not happy.

    How about the Tooth Fairy? What if her boss said to her ... wait for it ... "You can't handle the tooth!"

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Love your humor, Victor-and what about the cow jumping over the moon Ot The Ild Lady who lived in a shoe with so many children -
      Mother Goose Was the Alfred Hitchcock of her day!
      Blessings!

      Delete
  3. Hi Lulu! My mom also had strict bedtimes for us, but we could read in bed for while. Never got comic books though! That'd be fun :)
    I agree with the perspective that not many people post photos of their tough times, parental mishaps and the projects that failed. (Except those ones on Pinterest, which are hilarious!!) Who wants to advertise failure?

    Seeing photos that look so perfect do have underlying stories, and it's good to remember that. We weren't born perfect, and we don't 'get perfect' either.
    Blessings to you and your imagination with those photos!
    Ceil

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some might be quite alarmed to know my stories behind their pictures, Ceil!
      Blessings!

      Delete
  4. Wow, after hearing how hard it is to get kids to school I know why lions eat their young ... Ok, just kidding. Not envious here. Thankful my life has less drama.
    Comic books where some of my earliest reading material. After that is was Chinese, Greek and Roman Mythology. I'm a big fan of history, including what a group of people believes in. It's a good way to get insight into their culture and why they do the things they do (or did or will do in the future).
    Hope your day is blessed. ~:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I also enjoy historical fiction a great deal, Sparky- for some of the same reasons!
      Blessings!

      Delete

Your comments keep my writing and often cause me to think. A written form of a hug or a pat on the back and an occasional slap into reality---I treasure them all!