We write for five minutes flat. All on the same prompt that I post here at 1 minute past midnight EST every Friday. And we connect on Twitter with the hashtag #FMFParty (short for Five Minute Friday party). In fact, starting at around 10pm EST on Thursday you’ll find a lot of writers hanging out and chatting on Twitter with this hashtag.
No extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation.
Unscripted. Unedited. Real.
Start:
Story is a funny thing; for me, everything has a story. Every situation is a narrative. I love to hear people's stories. I love to hear where they have come from; what makes them tick. I love to pick into peoples lives and put together the puzzles which explains why they are how they are.
I think often times that is what is missing in so much of todays society. No body seems to want to stop and understand one another. No one seems to want to investigate the mystery of who those we encounter are.
Sometimes it takes work. Sometimes people don't want to let you in. You have to creep about like a little spider outside the house of who they are and find a crack. You ask questions, talk about safe things, push buttons until you find the one that lights up their eyes. Once the light goes on in the house, then it takes just a little more effort to get them to open the door.
It's like a game to me. I like to see how long it takes to get someone to open up and let me inside. My husband says he loves to watch me go to work, picking and poking, joking and commenting until I get the door open. Someone may not want to let me inside, but it is a gift the Lord has given me to be able to untangle the barbed wire that keeps everyone else out and get inside.
Everyone has a story to tell, and each of them are unique and beautiful and gives us another piece of the puzzle of who God is and what He is about on this earth and how He is bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth.
Everyone has a story to tell. Will you stop and listen? Will you be intentional and genuine and interested to get to the story even if it takes some effort, or will you stay consumed with yourself and miss the story God wants to tell you through the people you encounter today.
