Apple soup left overs

“looking away from all that will distract us and focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the author and perfector of faith” Hebrews 12:2 AMP

A while back I wrote about a young lady in our life who had faced a rough road. Her family had faced some quiet battles with a merciless opponent. The problem with quiet battles is that people may not even know it happened, which can be easier in some ways. However, not knowing also means no one is reaching out or soldering up to pray. You fight alone.

She wrote me a book called Apple Soup. She stappled it in a binder and everything. When she was showing it to me, I noticed there were no words – just pictures. The art of the book was in the telling. The story could go anywhere she wanted and it did. Every time she read her book to me the story was a little different.

This little stick of dynamite can talk. I once asked her mom if anyone had ever passed out in her presence due to lack of oxygen. When she looked at me wondering what the heck I was talking about I just said, “word count”. I had just walked inside after a session of listening and noticed when she ran out of things to talk about on any subject, she just kind of kept her airtime open by just repeating something until she thought of the next story. Her example that day went something like “um, um, um, let’s talk about spaghetti”. She then proceeded to tell me stories about spaghetti, and she made it fascinating.

She is as uniquely beautiful as any one of the stories she tells. She is also young. Kids in school are not always kind and for a young lady who wears her heart on her sleeve that can be hard. Adults are not always kind either, but it is easier for us to stay outside of the fray. I have a car and a yard. When you are at school, where do you go?

I have been thinking about her a lot today. I do not live close enough to her to drop in and visit. But I want to encourage her. I have anxiety. I take medicine for it. I do not jump for joy at having to do that, but when I do not do what I need to do, the anxiety can actually take over. The world can seem very small and I am almost 60.

Kids who may not be kind can see nervous habits and start to tell their own story and they pick the victim. For a young person that can be pretty hard to manage. Putting up with it can be a long day for a young heart. Her mom tells me that she does not complain. She just goes about her life.

I want to remind her of the stories she told me about Apple Soup. Just like the original story kept getting updated, she is still updating. She will get a unique opportunity to have a platform to tell her own story every day for the rest of her life. In her version she even gets to pick the setting, the subject, and the hero. She can leave the words out if she wants and just let the pictures do the talking. The art of her story is in the telling and it is a beautiful tale. I want her to know even when she feels alone, she has an army soldered up. We’re still listening.

What battles do your friends know you face?

What battles do you fight alone? Why alone?

Challenge: Your battles may seem small at times and overwhelming at others. Don’t underestimate the author of your faith. He may be using the pictures of your life to tell a fantastic story.

Rick Claiborn