becauses…
E.M. Forster says that a story is a narrative of events arranged chronologically as in “the king died, and then the queen died,” whereas a plot, although also a narrative of events, concentrates more on the because of things as in “the king died, and then the queen died of grief.” ~ Frederick Buechner
Is life a story? I’d say yes, but it also feels like something far more rich. Life feels like a plot, a wondrously varied string of becauses.
Becauses Because I hid the word in my heart so that I might not sin against god I find a tendency to think scripturally the way Euclid, I guess, thought logically. Because my sr high neighbor used to sun bathe on her flat roof so that my jr high self could catch bathsheban glimpses I find a soft spot in my heart for roving-eyed kings. Because I watched John Wayne rescue little Natalie Wood at least a hundred times I find I know what makes a man leave bed and board and turn his back on the ninety and nine. Because my mother taught me to iron my own shirts I find I can do all things, or if not all at least I can do a little like putting creases down sleeves in a wrinkled world. These and more becauses leave me no choice but to find my life, and yours for that matter, as more plot than story, more riddled with hilarity and grief than grass that simply fades.
I don’t know how you do it. I’ll say it again-What an amazing gift you have. I’m moved far more frequently than what I comment on because at a certain point it’s difficult to find new ways to say “you captured something I knew in my heart but would never be able to put in these words.” (and because it would just be weird to keep commenting. Perhaps the
best way would be to simply say “My soul says ‘Yes'”
“These and more becauses…” are why I check your blog for new posts, every day.
creative soul you are… weaving thought to word the way you do. I really enjoy reading your work.
I love this… especially when read in the light of your “you are your own king” piece. Yep, you found me in this one.
Thanks, John. As always, you’re a good read.
I love this! It’s how God weaves our intricate plots of becauses that makes us so uniquely who we are .