Our Stories

“Sing your songs of hope and fear -Sing the song that sent you here”
Wynonna Judd

From the beginning of time people have been telling stories about the Unknown Zone. So many teachers, sages, poets and authors have spun their magic with this topic. These stories were told before the written language and are as new as video clips on Facebook.

This past week the words of David from the Old Testament have been running around in my head. Most of us, even if we did not grow up religious, have heard pieces of the 23rd Psalms. The most “heard” version is the King James Version written in 1611. Envision a movie where someone on death row is walking the final walk with the priest reciting: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.”

Sounds like the Unknown Zone to me. But what I really like is that David doesn’t just leave it there, he proceeds to create a vision of beauty. “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over”.

Of course there have been many translations of David’s Psalms over the years. One of my favorite versions is another old one, the Rheims-Douay version of 1610. In this one, the over running cup is summed up this way “My chalise which inebriateth me, how goodly is it!” Bet you can tell why I like that one.

It doesn’t matter that you are walking in the valley of the shadow of death or as in the New Jerusalem Bible “a ravine as dark as death”, you get to have a chalise with whatever you like, be it red or white, at the end of the day. Not only that but in the final verse you read that "goodness and mercy will follow you through all the days of your life"(King James). Now this is what I’m talkin’ about!

So, maybe the Old Testament doesn’t do it for you. My kids loved the movie The Goonies (1985). I don’t know how many times we watched that video. As I recall you have a bunch of slightly misfit kids, a noble cause, a treasure to be found on a pirate ship, bad guys and a monster (Sloth). In the end the bad guys get arrested and the noble cause has been achieved. But the real gem is that the slightly misfit kids find out that they weren’t so misfit. All of that happened in a story that my kids still quote from. I don’t think it is an inspiring quote, but none-the-less, they remember the story.

I find comfort that the Psalms that were written 3000 years ago have as much meaning for me as The Goonies has for my kids. I like that we have stories to tell. New or old, these stories of faith and valor overcoming dire circumstances and events are universally recognized. Our ancestors heard these same stories around the fire at night. They are a part of us. They comfort us and give us moments of joy when times might seem tough. They become our song.