“Oxygen always stays around man, but man sometime breath without thinking about that. Oxygen never ignore man; It is the man who ignore oxygen.” — Chhenghak Yang
The best plot twists flow naturally from the story to take the reader by surprise while he/she says, “Of course, it was right there, I should have seen that coming.”
I had that reaction the first time I read the Bible. Not knowing any better, and thinking it was a rule book like Hoyle, I tackled it like any other book—starting at page one and reading straight through to the final Amen.
When I launched into Matthew’s telling of the Christmas story, it was both a surprise shift in the storyline and the most natural twist in all the world. That the Bible is a single story blew me away that first reading. Perhaps, I was too naïve. But maybe, just maybe, I was too ignorant when it came to things spiritual and the nature of God.
Who could have supposed the story of a baby born in a manger would send my life off in a new direction? I stumbled into a God-only-knows moment. That kind of breathing without thinking is more responsible for where I am now than any plan that I ever made.
I have lived like I write, by the seat of my pants, chasing dreams and plot twists. I may not always be thinking about where life leads, but God is. That He enjoys a good plot twist seems to go without saying.
Somehow a man called to preach, after thinking he had utterly failed, discovered the ability and opportunity to realize his call when he began to write. I call that a plot twist!
It all seems so clear—now! The oxygen was always there. Write your story but remember to breathe.
Maranatha
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