Writing a better story

I have been reading a book recently by Donald Miller that focuses on the idea of story as it pertains to how we live our lives. Basically the premise of the book is that our lives are stories, and if we want our lives to be meaningful, like any good story, we have to make them about something meaningful.

It's been a challenging and interesting book to read. Miller says story is "a character who wants something and has to overcome conflict to get it." It sounds simple, but it's anything but simple when it comes to our lives.

Another thing Miller said is that if we want to have more meaningful lives, we need to find a bigger vision for our lives and make it happen. I've been thinking about that and about all the impediments that stop us.

I've also been thinking about the message this weekend, where Star talked about fear, and about how fear works in our lives. It's the voice in our head that says we can't do something, will fail if we try, and would be better off not taking a risk. That flows well with some of the ideas in Miller's book, especially the idea of an inciting incident.

In a narrative, an inciting incident is something that happens to give a character a push, to knock them out of their comfort zone, make them face their fears, and try hard to overcome conflict. Too often we sit around waiting for an inciting incident to find us. It's not that we don't have dreams, we just don't know how to make them a reality. Or worse, we're afraid to fail.

I know that's certainly been true in my life. There have been times when I have felt pushed to go in a certain direction only to let those voices in my head shout down the idea. It isn't easy to write a better story for our lives, but it helps to know we're not alone. With God, anything is possible.

Tim Tebow commonly had Philippians 4:13 written in his eye black. It is one of my favorite verses and should be a comfort to all of us who struggle with the courage to take a step forward in our lives. It says, "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." (NIV).