Written June 15th
For the last while, I’ve let myself indulge in an all-time favourite for myself: my favourite T.V. show, CHUCK. The premise? A nerdy guy named Chuck, who makes $11/hr at a Buy More, gets a load of government secrets downloaded into his brain. He’s assigned CIA and NSA handlers, Sarah and Casey, who protect him and use the government intelligence stuck in his head. Many adventures and misadventures alike are had alongside his family and wacky coworkers.
Just to be clear, I don’t call something a ‘favourite’ lightly, either. I do so heavily, and with much love, since that’s how I steamroll! Ahem.
So this NBC show that aired from 2007-2012, almost got cancelled 3 seasons in a row but was saved by its fans launching a campaign partnering with Subway, and was such a goofy yet sincere mix of nerdiness, spies, comedy, action, drama, great music, lovable characters and excellent actors that, well, here I am five years later revisiting it again…perhaps a little too thoroughly.
I’ll admit it: I’m a fangirl, and that also means a fair amount of fangirl stereotypes will apply to me. I LOVE losing myself in an awesome story! It’s part of the enjoyment, getting sucked into another world…just as long as you return to your own world afterward. That’s the thing, though: sometimes I’ll get a little too wrapped up in the story…
Actually, when I was younger and had bangs, I’d twirl my hair while reading so much that eventually, one day I twirled it right into a knot. It soon became known in my household that the faster Adina twirled her hair, the better the story was getting.
So, I got a little too lost in the world of Chuck this past while (hair-twirling and all) because, gosh darn it, I love that story! I love how it’s a story of a soft-hearted and nerdy, under-confident guy who learns about what he’s capable of inside and outside of the spy world, alongside his friends, family and the girl/super spy he finds himself near.
Stories are a thing that I…just love. It’s a medium, a way of creative communication that I love to be a part of, whether that’s in their creation or their consumption. When I find a story that’s sincere and full of the things I love, I latch onto it. Sometimes, I’ll admit, a little too hard.
But what about my story? Do I dive into my own story the same way I do other stories? Mmmmm, not always. Life, in general, is full of seasons and so is my own, obviously. Sometimes I read faster to try and see what happens next since I’m so excited, sometimes I read slower and just soak it all in, and sometimes I feel like setting it to the side for a bit when it gets harder to read, or when I fear what will happen next.
Sometimes I do set aside my story, indulging in others because they’re easier to digest than my own, or because they have a clearer direction, or because it’s one where I know something good is coming next. But really, where’s that going to get me? An unfinished story – and I really don’t like those. I can’t leave a good story unfinished! That’s just a crime in my books! [pun heartily intended]
So the other day, when I was listening to another song by Francesca Battistelli called “Write Your Story”, it steamrolled me. I’d heard it before but in that time and place, it was much more meaningful. In this time, when I’m waiting for a handful of things to begin or resume and wondering what my story is going to be like, what it’s shaping up to be even now, these words reverberated:
I’m an empty page
I’m an open book
Write Your story on my heart
Come on and make Your markAuthor of my hope
Maker of the stars
Let me be Your work of art
Won’t You write Your story on my heart…
My life I know it’s never really been mine
So do with it whatever You like
I don’t know what Your plan is
But I know it’s good, yeah…
I want my history to be Your legacy
Go ahead and show this world
What You’ve done in me
And when the music fades
I want my life to sayI let You write Your story
Listening to it, I was just overcome with the utmost feeling of peace and joy, knowing that my story is coming along, no matter how slow it may seem at times. It’s going, and it’s good. Scratch that – it’s awesome!
It’s nothing worth fearing. I know because this Author’s already signed a contract, saying He’s going to make it a good one (not necessarily an easy one, but a great one!).
My story is the one I should focus on most, and interact with the most. This is the story I am truly invested in because it’s mine and it’s completely real. The bonus? It’s set within His story, which we already know the ending of: John 16:33 “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
I can take hope in knowing – by His word, and by all that He’s already done in my life – that the author of my story has a good ending planned. It’ll be the kind of ending that has me sighing with satisfaction, going, “Ah, that story was awesome! I love how the author did ____ and _____. The characters were so great, and there was so much character growth!”
It’ll be the kind of ending that has me looking forward to the never-ending sequel. The kind of ending that has anyone else who reads it feeling buoyed and inspired to see what kind of story the Author has for them.
“…I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.
“When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.
“When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.
“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.
“I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you”—God’s Decree—“bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.”
unfiltered freckles 