Food 4 The Road Daily Devotion

by Paul Sheldon: Author of “A Voice From The Pew”

September 27, 2016

Good Morning:

I’ve got to wonder, who among us doesn’t like a good story?  We spend millions of dollars, if not more, on books from all sorts of genres for the sake of stories.  For me personally, I am a huge fan of Louis L’amour novels, because they would transport me to the Western United States, and draw my imagination into the story.  But isn’t that what a story does?  It allows us the opportunity to visualize another reality, or live another life from the book in our hands.  Did you know that our lives are a story?  Yes, they truly are.  The difference is, we often don’t view it from that perspective, and so we struggle with viewing life that way.  John Eldredge was the first one author to call my attention to this way of thinking, and the more I read into his perspective the more it made sense.  What is it that every story needs to have in order for it to be worth the read?  Well I think it depends upon the person doing the reading, but most stories need a good plot, and some form of romance.  There must be a good guy or girl, and a bad guy as well.  The situations within the story come at you like the situations in our lives, like waves of the ocean, high’s and low’s, and always impacting the shore.

     Yesterday, one such story came to a close. At 11:28 a.m. my grandmother graduated from this life, and went on to be with the Lord, and her loved ones who’d gone before.  Over the course of the last several years, I spent time talking to her about her life, and listening to the story of her life.  She grew up through much of American history, and told of the struggles and successes that her and my grandfather lived through.  But most of all, she spoke of her faith in God, and how it was He who always stood by her, no matter what she faced.  She believed and counted on the very words of Jesus when He said, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” ~ Deuteronomy 31:6

     The author of Wild at Heart, John Eldredge, also shared the perspective that the “Book of Life” isn’t a duty roster in which we stand before St. Peter waiting to see if we’ve made the guest list or not.  No, instead, our lives are a chapter of the Book of Life.  Whatever challenges and successes we have, and even our sin and failures, are all included in our chapter of life.  Then at the end of time as we know it, from the very beginning of Creation in Genesis, through the return of Christ the King, our stories will be added into the Book of Life as a whole.  You see it is very much like any other novel we might read.  There’s a hero and a villain, there’s love and there’s loss, but in the end, it is Jesus Christ who is raised on high because He is the Author of life.  “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” John 1:3  So I humbly suggest that you find a comfortable seat, and review your own lives and see what kind of story it is your choices are telling.  As always,  
Be blessed! Paul Sheldon

ps. Thanks Grandma, I’m blessed because of your walk. 

Louise Sheldon
Nov. 5, 1918 – Sep. 26, 2016