A TAPESTRY

 

I have a dear friend who some say likes to talk.  They can tell a story with the best of the story tellers.  The story always has a starting and ending point, but the path taken getting from A to Z can be quite confusing.  I must admit to getting lost in the tale at times.  Each character in the story creates a side story.  You think the point of the story has been lost in all of the side stories, but low and behold, the story teller always remembers the point and circles around and around and ultimately to the point.  It is amazing to be on the listening end.  You think the teller is surely going to get lost in all of the sub-plots and character development, but it never happens.  The story is all woven together beautifully with the telling.

This reminds me a great deal of life.  We can either look at life one dimensionally or we can observe as many dimensions as possible.  With each character in a story there is a sub story--and that sub story has added characters and themes--and those stories all contribute to the ultimate theme of the original story.  Are you lost?  The mark of a great story teller is being able to develop all of the characters within the telling of the story.  The actions of the characters need explanation as to the whys or we lose the intent or reasons behind the actions and ultimate impact on the main character.

A story becomes a tapestry---one of two kinds of tapestry.  We can look at the story only from our viewpoint and everything becomes colored with the thread we are weaving with.

OR we can add the stories of those surrounding the main character and the tapestry takes on an entirely new look.  ALL the colors of ALL the characters make for a lovely tapestry of many colors

SO the next time you are listening to someone whose stories seem to go on and on---they are creating the story from the viewpoint of all the characters---NOT just from the viewpoint of the teller.  It is a beautiful thing when we acknowledge how each character colors the whole.  Aren't we thankful God creates us differently and weaves us all together then to make a beautiful world.

He is the ultimate artist and story writer.

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Colossians 1:16-17