A Great Cast…Includes U!

A huge part of every great story is a great cast.  Great characters.  And great character development.  We want to know the back stories of human lives coming together, and falling apart.  We want to follow the hero on his journey through despair and back into hope!

We need the drama of a great story!

Having the “right” people in the right places is what makes or breaks a great story.  So it is with life.  Finding the right cast of characters is essential.  The wrong person in the wrong role can ruin a cast, but having no person in the role is not an option.

We are forced to choose.  We are required to take risks and try.  To put ourselves out there.  To be vulnerable.  To listen.  To look.  To be desperate.  To look deeper.  We are desperate for the right people.  Eager.  And absolutely upside-down over what we have been called to do!

Finding the right people means being brutally honesty.  And the honesty is part of the process.  It is not personal in that sense.  When Jesus chose the twelve among the many disciples, there were things He was looking for.  He was not personally disregarding the gifts of the others.     

But choosing one person implies rejecting another.  That is reality.  At least for that position or role.  There are many roles.  We can be mad at God for the role we get.  We may not want that role.  But it is ours.  And we are part of the neverending story.  But only part.

If we do not do our part, the other parts will not have their cues.  Our part is essential.  And us in it.  Though the story could go on with or without us.  We have a role.  Will we take it?  If we don’t, the Director will need to find someone.  The part is too essential to lose.    

Our role in the story is essential.  Are we?

It is sad to think we may be replaceable.  But it is also, at times, relieving to realize the story does not depend on us.  The show will go on.  Even when we miss our cues, or need to play what seems like an insignificant role, we still have a part.  Play it.  Do your role.  Do it well!

When the day comes that you don’t have it all together, you miss a line, you don’t perform well.  Breath.  When you feel you can’t get on that stage, get on it anyway.  Life goes on.  The story goes on too.  We can be weaved back in.  There are many entry points back into the story.    

It is never too late.  That’s the good news!  It is never too far past.  As long as you can think it, as long as you can still dream, as long as you long, it is not too late.  Visions turn into dreams.  Each one serves a purpose.  Some divine stirring is going on in our deep longings.

They are the proof we need more.  The dream itself is its own vindication.  It is the syndicate.  The network of midnight hopes.  Late night aspirations.  Eternal longings.  The longing itself is the proof.  Let it wash over you.  Let it draw you in and validate you.

For that may be the single most important hump to get over: our failure to believe we are part of the story.  Even saying it sounds arrogant to some.  And yet there is an adoptive reality to our being alive that must be realized. We are here.  We are “in” the story by virtue of being alive.  This is your moment.  Take it!