What I learned from Frederick Buechner

Fairy tales are one of my favorite literary genres. Why? Because sometimes the real world seems extremely monotonous. In the real world I fail to win the important battles but in fairy tale land I'm sure I would have a magical sword. In the real world I wake up and everything is always the same, but one day I hope to step through the wardrobe into an enchanted forest. I hope to meet trees that talk. I hope to be changed from a newt to a knight, and if not a knight at least back into a person. I hope someone will save me when I've reached the edge of everything and it seems like giant, talking eagles are actually very reliable. I like the idea that a wonderful adventure is just around the corner, that life can be more than exciting, it can be something new and never before experienced. And I want to believe real life can be like this. That there is an adventure just around the corner, that there is a life other than the mundane that is worth living. This is the message of the gospel. Buechner said that the one difference between fairy tales and the gospel is that the gospel is true. God is real and He is closer than the wardrobe, His speech is more soothing than the trees, and He is more reliable than the eagles. In the book of Acts, Paul wrote that God is near to each one of us and He wants to be found. I want to live my life expecting every moment to be the beginning of a new adventure. But more than that I want to be changed.