Stories

Estimated reading time: 3 minute(s)

Our latest Netflix rental is Season 1 Disc 1 from Star Trek Voyager. We just started watching it two nights ago. Our local Fox network carried the show every night at midnight for a LONG time, so Jen & I used to watch every night! It was great! We love the show. The stories, the characters… it’s great Star Trek.

So popping it in again last night, starting from the very beginning of the series and following the 7-season plot was like getting together with old friends again. Like sitting down and reminiscing over some old home movies.

Before you go off just dismissing our trivial fun to our obvious succumbing to the Trekkie bug, I think it just reveals something of who we are, and what touches us.

Jen & I may enjoy a good dose of any Star Trek series, but the part that connects with us is the story. We love knowing the history of each character, where they came from, why they are who they are. As we get to know each one more deeply from time “spent” with them, we can relate more to the events as they unfold. We can understand why actions are taken, or not. We can relate.

That’s the power of a story. It draws us in, makes us a part. In a text book for a history class, you’re just getting facts. But in a novel from that same time period, you are getting the facts AND you are riveted by the compelling stories from the lives of your new-found “friends”. I have been listening to some Frank Peretti novels via AudioBooks loaned out from our library system. He is no doubt a great writer, but it is not just his talent for prose that keeps me coming back… it’s the story.

Jesus knew the power of a story. Most everything he taught was in the form of a story or an allegory. We call them parables. The truth of his kingdom fleshed out in the mundane of our experiences. A farmer, a father, a vineyard… all everyday things that the listener could relate to, revealing a deeper truth.

We were made to connect with other people. To experience life together. Ultimately to connect with our Creator. To experience life together with Him. So it makes sense that stories draw us in. They are life. They are life together.

So enjoy a good book, or a movie, or a TV show, or just find someone who tells a good story… and listen. Be drawn in. Go on that journey together.

And come back with a story of your own.

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PS… we highly recommend Netflix! They are incredibly fast, and for FAR less than the price of cable, we can have DVDs of all the shows we wanted to watch anyway! (They even have cool old shows like Mork & Mindy!) So sign up for their free trial today!