Last week, I got some lovely responses to my post about how to begin telling your God story, so this week I planned to give you another writing tip, but on what topic?
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Every time, I sat down to write, I felt exhausted. I hadn’t slept well all week, my mind busy replaying personal worries and bad news around the world.
This morning I woke up to the thump of a bluebird on the window. I know the sound because during mating season, I’ve heard it so often. The first time, I thought someone was knocking at the front door, but there was no one there. The next time, I thought something had fallen on the floor in the kitchen, but there was no mess. Again and again, thump, thump, thump, until I saw a male bluebird bashing himself against the glass as if his own reflection was his enemy.
This morning when I heard him again slamming himself at my bedroom window, I got up and thought whoever wrote, “If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow why ,oh why, can’t I?” never met a real bluebird.
Yet what a lovely metaphor, Disneyesque blue birds flitting above the cares of this world. Thank you, stupid blue bird for the idea of talking about figurative language.
As a former English teacher, I know the simple definition of a metaphor is one thing compared to another, but not in a literal sense. For example, My grandfather was a mountain of a man. If we add the word like or as, it becomes a simile. He was as tall as a mountain, his hair like a snowy peak. But you readers probably know that already, and I’m no longer an eighth-grade language arts teacher.
So, I want to talk more broadly about how symbols can enrich a theme, adding meaning and depth beyond what literal explanation can offer. Symbols stand for something greater than themselves. And they don’t have to be fancy.
For example, I started this essay with my exhaustion. The next thing I spoke of was the self-inflicted damage a macho bluebird incurs literally fighting himself. I didn’t say there was a connection, but it was there as subtext for the astute reader. The blue birds were a symbol of my blue mood and the way I kept bashed my own head against my worries until I was unable to rest.
Jesus understood this when he said,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:28-29 (NIV)
Using the metaphor of an oxen yoke, he acknowledges that life can be unbearable, full of figurative burdens too heavy to carry alone. He implies that without him we’ll be crushed by the weight of the world, unable to move forward. But by his side, he offers an entirely different experience. With let me teach you he acknowledges our independent nature that wants to do things ourselves no matter how ridiculous the load. By asking our permission to be our teacher, he endorses his wisdom and our need to trust it. My literal explanation seems wordy and clumsy compared to Jesus’ elegant symbol of an immense oxen yoke around a fragile human neck.
That’s because symbolic events, and images condense and deepen meaning.
Take the ultimate symbol of the Catholic crucifix bearing the broken body of Jesus. It tells the complete gospel without a word. One God/man taking the brutal punishment for all our sins. Likewise, the empty Protestant cross denotes a risen Messiah that death could not hold.
All this to say, as you record your story, events and images will fly into your writing just like my blue bird did. So, look for them. Be aware of their symbolism and use them to strengthen the meaning of the story, the Lord has given you.
And remember, don’t be your own worst enemy, bashing yourself with impostor syndrome. Don’t exhaust yourself like I did, losing sleep over what the Lord offers to carry for us. As a Christian writer, you’re not working on your own. The Holy Spirit bears the other side of the yoke placed on you as one of the Lord’s storytellers. He’s right beside you, just as he told you he would be—using a metaphor.
“For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:30 (NIV)
Translated that means don’t be a hard-headed blue bird when you can fly over the rainbow.
Cover photo by Michel-Catalisano on Unsplash
Thank you!