I've always been drawn to written communication.

Mom reminds me that when I was young, I would often choose to write letters to her and dad and lay them on their pillow when there was something big I wanted to say but struggled to get out through spoken words.

As a young girl, I remember writing to them about wanting to move from Kentucky back to Oklahoma, and I'm pretty sure that at another point in high school I wrote about the exact opposite.

I love to write.

I read a lot about the art of writing in magazines and books, and I've thought that someday I would love to write a novel.

Something totally made up yet powerfully moving.

One thing I've learned about writing through my reading of the subject is this:

Even in fiction, characters only have depth when they have a well-developed background.

As the writer, you have to know what makes your characters do what they do, think what they think, feel what they feel.

Their reaction to every other aspect of your story line has to come from something in their past.

I love the thought that even in imaginary characters there is an imaginary background.

That intrigues me.

And I think it speaks to the very core of humanity.

We all enter this world as part of God's big story........with a background.

Not that we have already lived.

Not that we are imaginary.

Not that God pens every word of our existence, controlling our thoughts, our suffering, our success, our failure.

But God is the author of one critical part of our life, and that is our faith.

And as the author of our faith, He began our story long before we came to be.

I love that when Jesus walked on this planet, God knew that He was walking here not just for the sake of the disciples or the people of that day.

Jesus walked on dusty roads for you and for me.

And when He walked to Calvary, carrying His own cross, our story was being written.

So today, as you and I move through our day, we react to life not just from the story that has been written since the day a doctor said, "It's a boy or It's a girl," we react from the story that was written long ago when Jesus said, "I have come to give life..and life abundantly."

I love that we have been born into a great story.

We are fully-developed characters even when our lives feel void or empty because the Author of our story knew us before He made us.

I love to write.

I am drawn to great authors.

And this morning, I am thankful for the first Author.

Even though I don't understand every chapter of the life I am living, I trust that He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it.

Because of that trust in Him, I can face today with a smile and a sense of great expectation.

You can too.

I am thankful that you and I have stepped into His great story at this specific time in history and because of that, we are able to share this chapter of life together.

I love you all,