Into the Fire

Most of us have read some kind of self-help book be it secular or spiritual. One of the best marriage books I’ve ever read is Dr. Emerson Eggrich’s Love and Respect which amplifies the very last verse of the fifth chapter of Ephesians to a profound and practical level. Since he’s an entertaining writer giving us examples from his own life and marriage, it’s one of the few non-fiction books of this type I finished and enjoyed. Excellent book for those anticipating and those in the trenches of marriage.

People assume that the “Christian Living” sections of Christian bookstores hold all the keys to adapting, flourishing, healing, and practicing Christianity in its finest form. Not for me. You might say I have a problem with “authority”. Telling me what I have to do doesn’t bode well with me. When someone does that, I have a tendency to examine them and wonder how they arrived at their conclusions. Within that examination I will undoubtedly assess their weaknesses and mentally dispute the logic of their assertion(s). I wasn’t always this way.

You see the problem is that not all problems can be solved the same way for all people. Biblical principles are faultless, but their applications are flexible with grace to include all kinds of us.

So, here’s my suggestion for unusual therapy: fiction. Novels present nearly every possible problem and situation short of unique and specific perversions—and you can certainly find those in the secular market, but I doubt they’re therapeutic. Christian fiction offers a non-intrusive source of identifiable characters immersed in circumstances which most of us face at some time during our lives—the challenges of temptation, indulgence, sinful choices, addictions . . . But by selecting a story to read instead of a manual no one looks at the title and wonders what you’re doing with that book which has “sinner”, “addict”, “deep trouble” written all over its title.

Depression, alcoholism, infertility, rape, incest, murder, mental illness, aging, lust, abortion, addictions, pride, lying, sexual and physical abuse, adultery, homosexuality, prostitution, and you-name-it appear within the pages of thoughtful and meaningful Christian fiction often told from first person POVs. Point being: whatever you’ve endured, you’re not alone. Someone has written it into a story because he/she either experienced firsthand knowledge of such a thing or intimately knows someone who has. The author tells the story and hopes to reach the right audiences, providing a safe place to go for emotional exposure and perhaps create a road to healing.

Story reveals some truths without demands. Story gives potentials without a list of to-do instructions. Story provides similarities which touch or prod or suggest possibilities. Imperfection resides in stories just as it does in real lives. Not a cure per se but maybe therapy.

It’s difficult to share our pasts, presents, or futures when they contain ugly things. We may or may not be responsible for them. There seems no logical or non-threatening place to bring them up even to friends. Reading a novel where a character expresses the pain of a similar experience can be cathartic. A harmless course to gain a remedy. Probably not immediate solutions but perhaps an exploration into the previously forbidden territory.

Just a thought . . .

Father, you direct steps toward resolution and you desire your people to become whole. You take us on journeys to provide us with tools for our healings and to gain wisdom in this life. May we heed the steps you’ve ordained for us. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.