Children's Bible Stories

I remember stories of a big whale, lions, and a great flood, feeding the hungry, of human strength and will power to overcome struggles. As a child, what I knew of God was based on these stories. I heard of God as a "He," and that he had a son who sacrificed his life to save us from our sins. At times, I even had dreams of being swallowed by a whale.

Disillusioned, I became, because of the people I eventually heard such "stories" from. An old pastor condemned those for sins he even committed himself. Used as a reason for politics. Rebelling from its hypocrisy, I didn't realize how I superficial I had been, and have become. I turned away.

It's not until I was telling a friend of the story behind "Palm Sunday" today because he didn't know... knowing the story, it made me reflect on how big of a part God has played in my life without realizing it.

The past few weeks were meant to be an experiment to see how much I can sacrifice by not partaking something that I love. As time went on, I began to see it as a test of discipline, of new perspectives, of serious reflection. Of responsibilities. Allowing me to understand better how painful sacrifices can be, and how necessary they often have been.

I'm not sure I really have a point here or if it makes sense. I just know that I really loved hearing those stories because they taught me so much. How to have courage, to persevere, to love, and most of all, to believe one's purpose, and to live it.