Skip to content or main menu

When Stories Collide

July 3, 2009

Recently we celebrated Canada Day. I had the privilege of being invited to a house party being hosted by a friend of mine and so when the evening rolled around I joined about 30 other people on a really nice deck attached to a really nice house with a really nice view. We spent the evening eating, chatting, playing a few party games and having a really great time together.

As the sun grew lower and brought down with it people’s energy levels, I began to take a step back from the crowd and watch how people were interacting. Have you ever stopped to look at a gathering of people and seen the beauty in what happens? I mean gathering together is so natural for us, and yet at the same time I can’t think of a more unstable occurrence. I mean when you think about it, a bunch of different people with different stories, and in different moods gather together and allow their lives to bang in to the lives around them. It really is by all human logic a recipe for disaster…except in the midst of the chaos…is sheer beauty.

As I sat on that deck and watched people talk, laugh and share their lives, I realized how intricate of a thing our God created when He created Community. I could tell that some people were having playful, humorous conversations, I could tell that some were having serious, in depth conversations and others were just shooting the breeze…each moment in each conversation was a by-product of different people coming together and sharing their reality with others.

The crazy thing is…that if even ONE of those people in each one of those conversations had experienced a SLIGHTLY different day than they did, the ENTIRE MOMENT would have been different. Everything about how the conversations took place would have been altered, if only one person in those groups had a different experience that day.

And so now I realize…we could never, ever re-create that moment. Even if tomorrow I gathered the EXACT same people, on the EXACT same deck attached to the EXACT same house with the EXACT same view…the experience of the moment itself would have been different…completely different. Because the people would be completely different. The same people. Completely different.

Because when all boils down, every moment spent with another person is only the way it is because we allow our current stories to collide. But our CURRENT story is CONSTANTLY changing. We have good and bad days, good and bad experiences, and each time we experience something….it changes our story.

So as I close this ramble I am left asking myself one simple question, and I want to put it to you…the one person who actually reads this blog :)

The next time you sit beside the one you love….will you savor that moment? WILL YOU GLEAN EVERYTHING THAT YOU CAN FROM THAT SPECIFIC MOMENT IN TIME?

The next time you gather with your best friend, or group of friends, or at a Church service…will you BE IN THAT MOMENT AS PURELY AND COMPLETELY AS YOU CAN?

Because the truth is…you probably will sit beside that exact same person, on the exact same couch tomorrow…but the moment will be COMPLETELY different. You will probably hang out with that friend again, or with that group again. You will PROBABLY be at that Church service again…but the EXPERIENCE will never, ever be the same again.

Because both of your stories will have another page. And when the stories are constantly changing, the collisions will always have a different appearance, and the MOMENT, will never…ever be the same again.

So i guess we really do have to savor every single moment….because a moment passed is a moment gone forever.

On my journey,

Brian <><

Some comments...

  • Ashley Millar says:
    July 05, 2009

    That was quite interesting! I’m glad I’m not the only person who does that on occassion. And from my expereinces I’ve come to learn and appreciate to truly take in every moment because you never know when your world will come crashing down around you and maybe you will never see or talk to those people again and at least your memories of them will always last a lifetime.

Add your own comment...