Ex Girlfriends And N.T. Wright

by Mike FriesenMike is a great friend, writer, and theologian. I love his perspective on life and God. Whenever we can, Mike and I share a good cigar, and we encourage each other. Mike is in his mid twenties. His post below reminds me that no matter how ugly it gets, the story is not over; pain doesn't get the last word. You can follow Mike on twitter here. Enjoy. I once dated a girl… Well, actually, I’ve dated a few girls… But, for stories sake, I dated one.I really liked this girl.I bought her flowers.I bought her chocolate.I opened doors for her.When we went down escalators or walked through the parking lot, I put my hand on the small of her back.I even told her about the time when I was two, and I walked through the food court of a mall butt naked, because I needed help from my parents with wiping, after having tried to do so myself.Things didn’t work out with this girl. I guess she could resist my shy and coy smile, my well-trimmed beard, and my 6’4 stature.We know who we are because of the story we have lived and the story we hope to live. So when someone you really like - maybe even love - betrays you, breaks your heart, or doesn’t materialize into a relationships in a way in which you were hoping for, the story breaks.Dreams that you once had were gone.Broken beliefs you have about yourself are reignited.In his stunning book, Surprised by Hope, N.T. Wright says this: “Easter was when Hope in person surprised the whole world by coming forward from the future into the present.”And, that’s what hope is: the moment when the future comes forward to us and says, “Possibility exists. God makes all things possible. The story is not over. The narrative may have been broken but it can be repaired.”I say this because other women have come my way. Other women will come my way.I say this because God is not finished. The things that break us - the betrayals, the abuse, the neglect, the abandonment, the losses, the tragedy, the sicknesses and deaths, the wounds that never seem to get better - don’t get the last word. The story is not over. The future is present and if we are open to it, over time, it will resurrect the story we have lived ourselves into.