The End of the Story (a Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

A while back, a young man got very excited about something he believed would revolutionize the work he did. That's not unusual, especially for young people. In this case, the "something" was a new level of computer animation. This young animator was so excited about this new animation idea he pitched it to his manager as something the company should do.

He was fired.

The reason? His boss told him it was because he was “screwing around with crazy ideas instead of doing his job.” End of story. Or so we might assume.

But IS that really the end of the story? People get fired every day, sometimes justly and sometimes otherwise. For the person freshly terminated from the working world, it certainly FEELS like it's the end. Still, as those of us who have been around a while have learned, what seems like the end of a person's story is really the beginning of another chapter.

In the case of our young animator, though disappointed in his company's response to his recommendation for change, he was not done. He went looking for more receptive ears . . . and he found them.

In the person of Steve Jobs.

Soon, he was at the center of that revolution in animation. And before long, he was a producer with such hits under his belt as Toy Story and Finding Nemo. They say that one man's trash is another man's treasure. In this case, it was Disney's trash that became Pixar's treasure.

But even THAT isn't the end of the story. When Disney later acquired Pixar, that former employee returned to Disney and became head of Disney’s animation.

In this week's Lectionary selections, we get to see a couple chapters in the story of King Saul and (future King) David. There were some dark times; scary situations with adversaries, rejection by the King. There were even worse times ahead, but God's story for David had many more chapters to go. Still, despite how bad things got, David maintained his confidence in God. And, as we are privileged to know since we can read David's entire story in scripture, God honored David's faith.

Our lives come in seasons and our stories are told in chapters. Be patient. Allow the time for God's plan to unfold. You never know what is just around the corner.
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/
Proper 7 (12) (June 21, 2015)

1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49
Psalm 9:9-20
or
1 Samuel 17:57-18:5, 18:10-16
Psalm 133
Job 38:1-11
Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Mark 4:35-41
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We have such a nice time each Friday morning at our Lectionary Breakfast gathering. If you're in the area, join us for a great start to your weekend. The food is tasty and the fellowship cannot be matched. We still meet at 8:00 at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant, corner of New Road and Franklin, in the center near Outback.

Enjoy the week!
Steve