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Monday, November 16, 2015

When life gets you down ... by MaryLu Tyndall

Let’s face it, life is hard. Even if you try and shield yourself from as many problems as possible, those arrows of troubles still pierce you from all around. I used to think life would get easier the older I got or when I reached certain milestones. When I get that job… married that man…when I get that promotion…when I have a child…when the kids leave home! LOL. But in truth, there are a multitude of trials at each stage of life, aren’t there? It doesn’t help that the world seems to be going crazy around us. There’s so much violence, disease and uncertainty. How do you cope with it all? Some people turn to alcohol or drugs, some people exercise, bury themselves in work, and if you’re a reader like me (and why would you be reading this blog if you weren’t!) some people dive into a good book as an escape to another place and time where, even though there are problems, it all works out in the end.

Can you tell I’m a huge fan of a happy ending? I don’t care how well-written a book is or how
well-acted a movie is, if it has a bad ending, I hate it. A couple of movies come to mind that I will never watch again. The Perfect Storm (spoiler: everyone dies!) and Cast Away with Tom Hanks. (He doesn’t get the girl!) Yes, I’m a real sucker for happy endings. But aren’t we all like that? We want our lives to work out perfectly. We want the prince to sweep us off our feet and ride off into the sunset where we live “happily ever after”. (Or maybe you want to sweep the prince off his feet! Whatever)  Yet life can’t make that promise to us, and a good book can only last so long. I used to get sad when I read the last page of a great book. Even if it was a satisfying ending, I wanted more. I wanted to get lost in that world again and again.

In my exhaustive quest for my own happy ending, I finally found a book that I can get lost it over and over and never tire of. I found a book that made me feel like a princess, a book where my prince does indeed come to my rescue and where we actually do ride off into the sunset for our happily ever after. That book is the Bible. And the best thing about the Bible is that it’s not fiction. It’s not a myth or a fairy tale or something conjured up by an imaginative mind. The promise of hope and a happily ever after are true. And though there are many days that are filled with problems and sorrows, I know that because I have given my life to my Prince, Jesus, the Son of God, that someday He is coming to get me and all my trials will end.

 Whether you’ve never read the Bible or you’ve read it multiple times, I encourage you to pick it up daily and read the greatest love story ever told. It will give you hope and peace like you’ve never known as you allow the words to penetrate your soul and you learn to trust in God. He loves you with a boundless love and He will never leave you or forsake you.

18 comments:

  1. I read my Bible each day. I'm not sure I'd make it through the day without it, MaryLu.
    As for Castaway...I still cry every time I watch that movie. I so wanted them to end up together.

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  2. MaryLu, ten years ago I was challenged to read through the Bible and I'm into my 10th year of reading through it chronologically. Next year I'm thinking about reading just the New Testament chronologically for as many times as the year allows. I'll let you know this time next year, how many times that is. :-)

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    1. That's wonderful! I bet you can list the incredible ways it has changed you and your life!

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  3. Oh, and as for books that don't end happily? Not going there. That's why I won't read Nicholas Sparks. Somebody you care about always dies. Or almost always.

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    1. I'm with you on Sparks... I read one or two of his, but no more.

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  4. Lovely post for this Monday! What a fabulous reminder that our Bibles should be our first books to turn to. Yes, I love my happy ever after endings.

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  5. I know you so well, my friend. I knew you wrote this before I saw your name at the end. The Bible is truly the ultimate love story....with exciting twists and turns and, of course, the best Happily Ever After of all! God bless you, my friend. Hugs.

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  6. Im reading a daily devotion this year written many years ago by a Lady who is going through the bible on about a 3 daily roster and I love reading the different parts. we are in Zachariah I think it is as one part and its interesting learning about this time. I don't think I have read the later minor prophets and not a lot is preached on them.

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    1. I'm one of those people who adore the Old Testament. There are so many rich nuggets hidden in the pages. You're right. not many preachers teach on the prophets.

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  7. MaryLu, beautiful post .as always you pull me into whatever you write.
    I can't remember the name of this movie, my daughter told me to watch it. It was about an Akita dog, and Richard Geere would go to work every day and the dog would wait at the train station until he came home. One night he didn't come home, he had died in the city, and the dog-- waited at the train station for years and then one night he wagged his tail and you saw the dog and Richard walking away. I sobbed and sobbed . I had a great dog and she was an Akita. We kept each other company for over 14 years. I miss her very much. Well I will never ever watch that movie again.
    Wow I go on and on. I love this site and getting to know everyone is great. Blessings to all.

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    1. Thanks Elsie! That movie sounds much too sad for me,.. .although it sounds like a sort of happy ending :-) We love our pets, don't we?

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  8. Amen MaryLu . . Amen!

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  9. Sorry to be so late, everyone! I had my granddaughter today and she keeps me so busy!!! Thanks so much for coming by and taking the time to read my post. I'm glad it encouraged you. :-) Hugs!

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  10. Great post, MaryLu! And a good reminder since I haven't been as consistent in reading my Bible lately.

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