MOVIE TRAILER

In my house, I am notorious for the stories I tell my children at bedtime. Some nights are better than others, but for the most part, they are well received. My children choose the characters, which have included Princess Elsa and Luke Skywalker to name a few. Then, I create a story that revolves around these characters, which, most often, are ridiculous tales which make the kids laugh. Recently, my kids have become more interested in movies as opposed to their normal twenty-minute kids’ shows like Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Wild Kratts. Often, they want to hear what a movie is going to be about, so I shared with them that they could watch a trailer to learn more. 

Shortly after one of our movie nights, I realized how much this new information had registered with my inquisitive daughter Vivian, whose four-year-old mind never stops working. It was one of those nights where story time wasn’t high on my list, and I was thinking about all of the things I needed to accomplish before the day’s end, so I decided to shorten the story. At its conclusion, Vivian called me out, telling me it wasn’t good enough and too short. She actually called my story a “trailer” in her sweet Bostonian accent.

This made me wonder why we don’t slow down to take advantage of the moment. Instead, we show “trailers” of our lives, doing this for a few minutes or that, and not allowing ourselves to develop the stories of our lives which are really about our relationship with God and with others. God doesn’t want to see the trailer of our lives that reveals just the best parts. God wants the unedited version, which takes time, however He patiently waits for us to pour out every part of it to Him. Psalm 139:23 reads, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” It is my prayer that you and I will slow our lives down enough to take the time to show Him the full-length version of your lives.