Teller of Tall Tales

My wife says I am a liar. We disagree with each other on this subject quite regularly. I don’t think I am a liar at all. I am a teller of tall tales. They aren’t lies but stories created for someone’s enjoyment, especially mine, but others are invited to enjoy these stories also. I inherited this gift. I don’t know if I genetically inherited it, or if it was willed to me from my grandfather, but either way it is part of who I am and who I will always be. My grandfather’s stories were wonderful to listen to. Even when I knew that he was telling a tall tale, I would listen and ask questions. My grandmother would make sure that we knew that none of it happened, but that didn’t matter to me. The story, real or not, is what I wanted.

As the years go by I am certain that my stories will grow and hopefully will get better. I hope my children and maybe one day grandchildren will listen to my stories and hang on every word just like I did with my grandfather’s stories. I hope that no matter how fantastical or exaggerated the stories are, they will ask questions knowing that their questions will just cause the stories to grow even more. That will make me smile, just like it made my grandfather smile and I am guessing just like it made the man who passed this gift on to my grandfather smile as well.

I have a reason for bringing this up. It is not just so you will start questioning the truth of what I tell you. I started reading Crazy Love this week by Francis Chan. I loved this quote. It made me smile!

Isn’t it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exaggerate? --Francis Chan

It made me smile because I am a teller of tall tales and an exaggerator by nature. It made me smile because no matter how tall a tale I can tell about God, it will never be an exaggeration. My stories would never be able to exaggerate the Love of God, or the Wrath of God, or the Wonder of God. The tallest tale I could tell about any aspect of God could at best only scratch the surface of the reality of who God is. And that is great news for all of us!