Time to get caught up….

June 13, 2009 by john.

Well, it’s been a while (like over 3 months) so maybe it’s time to check back in again.

First, let’s tie up some loose ends.

After hurting my knee three weeks before the race in March, I rested and did light workouts for the next two weeks. Then I ran a couple of times before the race and headed out on Saturday, March 28 for the big day.

The weather the day before the race was great. The weather the day after the race was great. The weather the day of the race was crummy. Picture it - cold wind, temp around 28 degrees, snow flurries, spitting rain…. yep, you get it! 170 people signed for the race, 107 showed up. Anyhow, I was there, I ran and actually did better than my training times. I finished in 36:22, was 61st out of 107 and was 3rd in my age group (yes, there were more than 3 in my age group!). In fact, I finished before the winner in the ladies 60+ group - thereby proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that after all my training I can run faster than an old lady.

Moving on from there, I participated in the local Relay for Life, running 8 laps and walking about another 10 or so at a local high school track. On one of my running laps, they had lit the luminaria bags and then turned out the lights while I was running. That was a really neat experience running in the dark with only the candle lit bags lighting the track. Our team raised over $1000 for the American Cancer Society, so that was also a successful venture.

Life goes on and I’m still working out a few days a week at the gym. Lately I’ve started running 3.25 miles on the treadmill once or twice a week. My last couple of times were around 39:58 and 39:32. Not great, but at least respectable.  There is a race in Denison next weekend, but I’ve got too much to do around the house and farm next weekend to spend it on the race. I’m still training, though, as if I was going to run just to give myself a decent goal to strive for.

Now on to today.  I’m sitting in the airport in Nashville waiting for the boarding call for my flight that has already been delayed an hour. [break] OK, now I’m actually on the plane heading home. This weekend was The Gathering ‘09, a celebration of life, love, story, and The Great Romance. I’ve got so many thoughts running around in my head that there will most likely be several blog entries coming on this (yeah, right - I really AM planning on writing more soon!). For now, you can read more about the Gathering, and about Ted Dekker (the host) at www.teddekker.com and www.teddekker.com/gathering09. [note to self: check links]

One of the main themes that resonated throughout the talks, the drama, the dance and the stories of the Gathering was that there really exists only one main story - the story of The Great Romance. We all have a part in the telling of that story, In fact, our lives are an integral part of The Great Romance, whether we are aware of it or not. Yes, dear reader, that includes YOU!

What is The Great Romance? As depicted in Ted Dekker’s novels, Black, Red and White (and coming in September, Green), it is the story of the love between Elyon and His people - the innocence at the beginning, the betrayal of that love by the people, and the wooing, redemption and restoration of the people by Elyon - the ultimate triumph of good over evil. It is depicted by Tolkein in the triumph of virtue over evil in the quest to destroy the One Ring that enslaved the hearts of man. It is depicted by the apostle John in his description of The Word becoming life and light and piercing the darkness of man’s heart and soul. While Dekker and Tolstein use allegory, and John’s Word is an abstract allusion to a very real God, the Great Romance is most demonstrated through the very real person of Jesus Christ, through His life, His death, His resurrection, and His return to be a part of His people in this day and time. That is the heart and soul of “The” story.

[Note to reader: As I write these blog entries, I always try to bring out some down to earth relevance. I like to call it the “So what” moment. Head up - here it comes.]

So what? [I told you so!] You ask, “How does this boring little diatribe have anything to do with me, my life, my struggles and my triumphs?” I am so glad you asked!

But before I answer, allow me to interject another thought that came from Ted Dekker’s comments at The Gathering. He stated that we were co-authors with him of his stories. All he can provide for us is the framework of the story. We have to complete the story by reading it and fleshing it out in our minds. Reading is an active endeavor, where the reader blends life experiences with the author’s framework to complete the work.

In that same sense, we are the co-author’s with The Master Author of the Great Romance. He put the framework in place before even creating the world and all that is in it. Yet we add to the story through the living of our daily lives. So the relevance, the “So what?” is that you, through the ups and downs of your life, are contributing to the color, to the fleshing out of the framework, even to the extension of the subplots found in the main story.

I’ve read several novels recently, with a few of them classified as “young adult” novels.  Those that are thus classified, I find somewhat disappointing. It took me a little while to figure out why, but it pretty much comes down to plot lines.

A novel that really grabs me, one of the “can’t put it down” variety, will have multiple plot lines that are weaving in and out of each other and making my mind work to keep up with everything happening. This mirrors the complexity of real life and, hence, brings a sense of reality to the story. In contrast, the young adult novels that have fewer plot lines are less complex and, frankly, are not nearly as interesting.

[break again - it’s now a week later, finally getting this blog finished]  We don’t live at the Young Adult level. Our lives are fully entwined with those around us, with the many tendrils of our own plot lines interacting with the plot lines of our loved ones, our friends, our coworkers and even those that we casually come into contact with in the process of living each day. If there is any truth to the Six Degrees of Separation theory, then our life plot lines very quickly intertwine to create a global story that really is The Story.  We may not recognize it as such, but we live The Great Romance.

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