Wednesday, July 31, 2013

News-flash:  I love narrative!

Seriously - the past year, being out of school, has made me fall more in love with narrative than ever before.  I still can't articulate how awed I am by the power God gave us when He decided, "they will be story-tellers." 

I recently read an article on Relevant called "Why Christian's should Read more Fiction."  Excellent article! A few favorite bits:
I’d like to make a case for the imagined stories, the ones that can throttle our hearts and challenge our biases, and for the fictional characters who, if we get close enough, can become real...
The writer takes the chaos of what he sees, and does his best to weave a unified story that is somehow reflective of that experience. And it’s not necessarily his message or theme that is his offering of what is beautiful. The story itself is the offering. The story is the prayer...
We shouldn’t overlook the power of stories, both real and imagined, to move us, break down our walls and send us out wanting to love more...
I get all "jump-up-and-down-in-your-chair-excited" when reading this article.  Over the weekend, I was with extended family, all of whom were asking, "What's next for you?" or "Still thinking of grad school?"  And yes, yes it's still a thought.  But it challenges me to think, what comes after the summer?  What comes after this particular season of my life?

Then, today, my boss took me out to lunch and we spent most of the time comparing notes on books.  "Count of Monte Cristo - one of the best endings ever!" "Oh The Road was good, but terribly depressing..."  "Oh, you should get the goodreads app - it'll track your books and lists for you!"  "Julian Barne's, Sense of an Ending - now there's a brilliant take on memory and fiction..."   And there I am.  Coming alive, again, when immersed in a conversation about narrative. 

I have few specifics on what "career" I should pursue (I think I'm a bit too stir-crazy / "artistic" / hippy for a traditional "career"), but I know I need to be surrounded by and immersed in narrative. 

Basically, I need to find a job where people will pay me to read and discuss good books!  Does that position exist?

3 comments:

  1. Oh Samara - thank you for putting my thoughts into words.
    Sometimes I dread the "what are you doing with your life"/"what are you majoring in" question. I know I'm a little step behind you in that I'm still in school, but it's encouraging to hear that it's okay to not know yet. I suppose I should see this as an opportunity for adventure rather than reason to dread future decisions.

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  2. LOVE IT! God is not in the box, nor does He ever call us to be culturally traditional, but oh so often we think we have to fit in the culturally traditional box of going to school and having a career. I think God has something more exciting for His children! :) Love this Samara (& Kayla) and I'm excited for you (both)! And Samara, I LOVE that you LOVE narrative! I love that I have friends who are unconvential too - it is so much fun! :)

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  3. hahaha, I read that same article. Scientific American wrote basically the same article 3 years ago.... at least the Christian community is catching up to this truth.

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