Defining Moments

blog # 2

One of my all time favorite stories has to be “The Gift of the Magi”, by O’Henry. Most of you have heard the story or a rendition of it: A young married couple is struggling financially and want to buy each other a meaningful Christmas present. She sells her long, luxurious hair (her pride and joy) so she can buy her husband a watch fob for his pocket watch (his pride and joy). Unbeknownst to her, he has sold his pocket watch to buy a tortoise shell comb for her long, luxurious hair! The selling of their prized possession renders their gifts useless. After getting over the shock, the couple realizes that the real gift is their sacrificial love. Awwwww. This is what is known in the writers’ world as an “Aha moment.”

Writers are taught to construct a good story by having memorable characters, a beginning, a middle, and an end (most of us have that one figured out), and most importantly, an “aha moment.” An “aha moment” happens when the reader says, “Aha, I get it—this is meaningful.”

A really good story will give the reader a moment that will stay with her in a pocket of her memory and will on occasion be brought out and pondered. Our own lives have aha moments all along the way—defining moments when God shows up and makes a statement. A defining moment could be a gentle reminder of God’s presence, or it could be a jaw dropping reminder of his great love and miracle working power. It could be a moment of finding a nugget of God’s truth revealed (“Now I understand God better.”) Or it could be a moment when God steps in for an obviously supernatural provision or rescue. The Israelites had a defining moment when the Jordan miraculously parted. Another defining moment found in the Bible is the story of Joseph. Although his brothers had sold him into slavery, Joseph rose through the ranks and was later able to save his brothers along with the whole nation of Israel (Genesis 50:20). What Satan had meant for evil, God had meant for good—aha! The Bible is full of defining moments. Our lives are full of them too.

This blog is a collection of aha or defining moments. It is an assortment of my stories or those I’ve heard from fellow believers along the way. Some are nuggets; some are boulders. All are stones collected in remembrance of what the Lord has done and what He continues to do as we walk along the path of obedience. I’m not a theologian, but an observer. I observe the small details of life where God’s character is made clearer, and the big moments where I fall on my knees in awestruck wonder at God’s power. I hope my words encourage you. I will be praying for each of you who reads this blog, that the right word will touch you at the right time and that you would begin to look for the defining moments God puts in your own life. I encourage you to keep stones of remembrance so you can keep an account of God’s goodness in the land of the living. And when we come face to face with Jesus and are shown our eternal home, I imagine our aha moments will go on forever!