The Best Storyteller and the Best Story Idea

I know many of y’all are writers, or have been at some point in your lives. Writing is one of those crazy arts in which you have no idea what you’re doing 98.71% of the time, but when you actually do know, it is the best, most beautiful feeling. I was thinking about this recently, and a parable of sorts popped into my head while I was journaling my thoughts and reflecting over my past prayer life.

Have you ever had a friend who wanted you to write a story SO badly? I think many of us have, especially if you’re the kind of writer that shares or even talks about your story as it is being written.

So you get this story idea, and you’re so excited about it that you tell your friend. But you don’t know the ending yet, so you only explain the beginning, and some vague idea about the middle. And your friend goes beserk. They love the idea. What will happen next? They’d love to help you brainstorm. They’ll give you ideas. They’re happy to help you write this story (even though the last time they did any creative writing was eight years ago in elementary school).

You start writing, hoping your friend will forget. At words flow onto the page, you grow more and more inspired. Each day, your word count climbs and your story feels more wonderful. The protagonist grows, the plot becomes more and more relevant, and the themes breeze through the story with a poignancy you would never have expected. You get so excited about the story that you tell your friend about it again. And then you send them the document so they can read along as you write. And then, because you’re so thankful for their support, you tell them you’re going to dedicate this story to them and get it published.

Your friend has never been more excited. They encourage you like crazy. They’re so awesome.

And then your writing slows down a bit. Your schedule outside of writing speeds up. You’re busy with others things, and you’re not writing quite as much as you had been. The story isn’t progressing as quickly. But you have finally figured out the ending, and with each day it grows in your heart, adding on details as it warms inside of you. And now you’re glad you don’t have as much time to write, because the ending is so perfect and it becomes more perfect with every day that you haven’t quite gotten to it yet.

Except your friend doesn’t get it. The story isn’t going very quickly. But it’s still so good! AND THEY WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! You won’t tell them, so they decide you must not know. And pretty soon, every day they text you with a new idea. A few of them are half decent. One of them has parts that are very similar to the ending you have planned. But most of them are horrible.

You keep reminding your friend, “I know what I’ve planned for this story. It’s the best ending there is. It’s the coolest plot. It produces the best change in my character. You’re going to love it.” But you haven’t finished the story yet, and so they just keep suggesting things.

Anyone catching the parallel here? I think this is how I am with God. I tell Him, “Alright, Lord. I trust you. I know you have the best story planned for my life. It’s going to be better than anything I could come up with, because you are the best storyteller.” And I rest in that for a while, and watch in excitement as the beautiful story unfolds. And then it slows down a little. And I start to doubt. Pretty soon, I hear myself making suggestions. “Lord, it’s your story, of course. But I would love it if you could make this happen down the road.” “Lord, I know you have a plan for my life. But if you could add this little thing to the plan, wouldn’t it make it so much better?” I try to take back the things I’ve already surrendered.

I’m telling you, that’s not how it works.

He listens to my feeble suggestions, but He doesn’t grant them. And then I shake my fist at heaven wondering, “Why didn’t you do what I wanted? It was such a good idea!” When really, to be frank, it wasn’t.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I believe that God wants to hear our desires, our wishes, our wants. There are few things He loves more than when we come to Him just to talk. The difference is our attitude. Is it one of humble surrender, that ever good gift comes from Him? Or is it pridefully asking Him for stuff because for some reason we think He owes us?

From a writer’s point of view, characters are allowed to have desires. The authors just don’t always give them what they want. Instead, they give them something better.

Trust the greatest Storyteller with your story. His ways are higher than ours.