Storytime

"If I have something that is too difficult for adults to swallow, then I write it in a book for children"

(Madeleine L'engle)

This year 2011 I am deliberately entering into a season of Creativity.

One avenue of creativity that I am choosing to commit to is in the area of writing.

I am greatly influenced by the authors George MacDonald and Madeleine L'Engle.

Although their books are often labeled "children books," I believe every adult should indulge in their inspiring, revelation-filled stories!

I've been working on a story about two children who set off on an adventure full of discovery and freedom; treasures, and imagination.

The following is a short excerpt from my story:

"...I must interject here that the explorations of these woods are not always joyous and peaceful as these children have experienced.  There have been those who have undergone unpleasant demises and unfortunate tragedies while walking these same territories.  However, such hardship is never attributed to the darkness of the forest, nor to the abnormality and strange behavior of its surroundings.  Hardly! For whatever takes place in this cryptic setting has very little to do with external circumstances, and almost everything to do with the internal state of one's heart.  For every man, women and child has a heart, and each heart has a condition.  And if a man's heart is set on evil, fear, or pride, he is doomed to encounter any form of such things.  But if a child, whose heart is pure, embraces all that Heaven offers, that child will most certainly experience the freedom of all that is good and true.  Any opposition will merely be of insignificance to the one who keeps his heart set on things above, for only that kind of heart condition can triumph over the inferior powers of fear or darkness, and be set free to relish in the unusual joys of such mystery.  And so, these children indeed have the most purest of hearts, and thus no harm can touch them, no matter how big the darkness.

            Having said that, there were critters in this forest hiding behind bushes and trees, and some would follow the children.  But the children paid no attention.  They were more concerned with beautiful things.  But the critters were there nonetheless.  And it takes a pure heart to recognize what is bad and what is good.  A dark and slimy critter might very well be a harmless friend, whereas a gentle and sweet creature could quite possibly be an enemy in disguise.  Oftentimes the appearance of something has nothing to do with its nature.  It is a good thing that these children have very strong instincts, for they have not yet been contaminated by social prejudices and skewed judgments.  It must be noted that every child is born with such pure discernment.  Some adults mistake a child's natural intuition for either naive trust or childish fears.  And this is most regretful.  The most destructive element in humans is the pride of adults to discount a child's opinion or perspective as inferior or meaningless.  This kind of pride gives birth to a glorified man-made intelligence, and disregards the innocence of a pure heart.  The most overlooked secret, however, is that children are most innocently wise, and critters are intimidated by them..."

(Bethany Hall).

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