The Best Part of an Adventure
“The best part of an adventure is the people you meet!” – As the character, Edward Bloom, in Columbia’s Town Theatre’s current production of “Big Fish – the Musical,” I say this line to my young son. It comes in the middle of a song in which I’m trying to inspire my son, Will, to be the hero of his own story.
The storyline of this wonderfully imaginative musical is of Will, now a young man about to have a son of his own, trying to sift through the many fantastical stories told by his father in order to find the truth. I have found so much of myself in the character I have the privilege to play – Will’s father, Edward Bloom.
Toward the beginning of the show, in Edward’s younger days, another character says to him, “tell me what you want.” He responds, “I want a BIG life!”
As the play progresses the audience learns that Edward leads the ordinary life of a traveling salesman. Nothing special. Nothing spectacular. So he makes up stories to delight, and sometimes confound, his son. He loves his wife and son dearly, a fact that consistently comes out in the tales he tells. But in one of the final songs of the show, Edward looks back on his life and confesses, “I know my life was small.” There is a tinge of disappointment in himself. There is a longing for a life of significance, to make a difference in the world, to be a hero.
Through the other characters, especially through his son, Edward comes to find that the significance he longed for wasn’t given up in his failings or lost in the heroic deeds he never did, but it is found in the relationships he had with those he lived with and loved – most importantly with his family, but also with the lives he touched throughout his journey.
Over and over in the Bible, we are encouraged to love one another, encourage one another, build each other up…
John 13:34-35 – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
Romans 14:19 – “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.”
Philippians 2:3 – “Let each esteem others better than themselves.”
Colossians 3:12-13 – “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”
…and so many more!
I think God is trying to tell us that we are important to one another, and our relationships are what life is about – first with Him, our Heavenly Father, and then with our family and those around us.
The church is a wonderful place to put these commands into practice. I believe that here at Trinity Baptist Church Cayce, we are living out these instructions, loving one another and caring for one another. I am so grateful to be a part of this church family!
One of my favorite lines from the musical is when Will, as a young boy, tells a friend, “in my Dad’s stories, the most beautiful woman is always my mom.” I can say the same for my own Cindy, my bride! And in God’s story, I believe He would say one of His most beautiful creations is His Church – His magnificent Bride.
