why is it that i often find myself late at night with a remote in my hand flipping through channels looking for a show, documentary or film -a story- that captures my attention and my heart? i often search in vain, give up a sigh and settle for a story that i know will never satisfy but only result in robbing me of sleep...

it seems there is a deep and compelling longing in my heart to stumble upon a story that captures my attention and my heart.

i don't even want to count how much of my life is spent in this pursuit -buying books, surfing the web, going to the movies, flipping through tv channels and even playing interactive video games.

there are only a few stories that really touch my heart in the way it desires. some are short and simple, like "The Prodigal Son" or "You Are Special". others are long and more complex, like "The Brothers Karamazov" and "Blackhawk Down". yet even these stories leave me hungry rather than filled...

it seems that the pursuit of a story transcends all cultures. mankind is hungry for stories...looking for a deeply satisfying story -possibly even desperate for such a story.

i sense that we also hope that when we stumble upon such a story, that it will somehow be reflected in our lives -that this story will validate our lives- as we find ourselves to somehow be in such a story.

i thoroughly enjoyed "Robots" which premiered tonight in movie theaters. the theater spontaneously erupted into a burst of applaus when it ended. we had found a story that did not disappoint us -a story that fed our souls to some extent. it wasn't only creative and funny...it told a story worth telling and worth paying to listen to... and like many good stories will, it left me hungry for another such story.

perhaps this human longing for a story is something God himself planted within our hearts and minds? perhaps it is one of his ways of calling out to our hearts -to seek the story he is telling- the story that we are all a part of?