from Ron Rose
September 1, 2008

Preparation

Do you have a storyteller in your family? I hope so.

Everybody loved Aunt Ruby’s stories; they were filled with surprises, adventure, and more than a little imagination. She and Durwood lived in a broken-down, wood-framed, four room house just north of Harrison, Arkansas.

We would only visit every two years or so, but Ruby and Durwood always made the country visit an unforgettable experience for a city-kid.

This time the front door was missing, but the screen door was there swinging on a single hinge near the bottom. Chickens and turkeys and goats rambled in and out of the house like it was their own.

The clouds had been gathering all afternoon and they finally let loose. We all gathered on the porch, watching the lightning and waiting for the rain to stop. Ruby said, “Did I ever tell you city-kids about the time the tornado attacked us?”

NOOOOOO!

“It was about five years ago on a night like this. That mean ol’ twister come right across that hillside and lifted our house right off the ground. The kids were screamin’ and hollerin’, but the roar of the storm was so loud you could barely hear ‘em. We were all inside, rolling around the floor, trying to find something to hold on to. Finally, Durwood got curious, he wanted to see what was happening, so he crawled over to the door, and when he opened it… that old house just blew apart. Our kids were scattered all over the countryside and it took years to rebuild this old shack. I guess you noticed, we never found the door. So, if you’re out walking through the woods and you see that old door, let me know.”

I didn’t care for the outhouses, or the ticks and chiggers, but I loved the stories. It didn’t matter how true they were. There was something magical about the story times.

Regardless of our intentions, our stories reveal our values, our character, and our passions in life. They out live us, like a permanent record that proves we really lived. Even the legendary stories filled with more fiction than fact are packed with hints of wonder and wisdom.

That’s why the Bible is the original storybook. By the way, that old leather bound book is a permanent record of God’s encounters with his creation. When we read those stories or hear them told we sense HIS values, HIS character, and HIS passion for HIS creation—HIS wonder and wisdom.

Faith giants have more stories than they can remember; many of them are personal encounters with the creator, shared secrets, adventures, dangerous and wondrous. Don’t store them away; they long to be told.

Inspiration

Walter’s mother dumped him at Garth and Hub’s place for the summer. They were cantankerous old hillbilly brothers who lived in a rundown old farmhouse. These two strangers were his grandmother’s brothers, but that didn’t mean anything to Walter and besides they didn’t even own a television.

One night, Walter wakens to the sound of a shotgun and sees Uncle Hub wandering down by the lake in his nightshirt. He sneaks down to investigate and discovers Uncle Hub is actually sleepwalking. The following day when he questions Uncle Garth about it, the mysterious story of adventure and valor and romance begins to unfold.

In 1914 the brothers left America to explore Europe for a year. After a night in a bar they find themselves enlisted in the French Foreign Legion headed for Africa. While in Africa, Hub meets and falls in love with Princess Jasmine who unfortunately is promised to a sheik who takes her away. Hub follows and courageously rescues her. The sheik is furious and places a bounty of 10,000 pieces of gold on Hub’s head. Hub and Garth work a little trickery and get the gold and the girl and, in the process, the Sheik’s respect. But that was a long time ago.

The uncles hid the money under the barn, but nobody knew that (till young Walter discovered it). Walter doesn’t realize how his presence restores a lost sense of adventure in these two old men. Gradually they begin looking for surprising new ways to spend their time and their money. Among others things, they buy a secondhand lion to hunt and bi-plane to assemble. But the lion’s too old, so she becomes Walter’s pet.

Garth and Hub were “secondhand” uncles, but filled with new life. Walter was a “secondhand” boy, but overflowing with wonder. In the end he inherits the best of his uncles, and their money. Oh and the lion, the “secondhand” lion… she named the movie and died saving Walter. Secondhand things have a lot left if you give them a chance.

After Walter is grown and on his own, Garth and Hub die in a bi-plane crash. The two of them finally got that thing put together. They were trying to fly it upside-down through the barn. It didn’t work.

As Walter stands there looking at the tail of the plane sticking out of the barn, a helicopter lands and out steps the grandson of that sheik from long ago. He had heard the news and wanted to see for himself. He wanted to put a place with the story of the two valiant opponents his grandfather had talked so much about.

As the “Secondhand Lions” movie closes The great Grandson of the Sheik looks up and says, “They really lived?”

Walter smiles and replies, “Yes! They lived!”

Motivation

You probably have not fought in the French Foreign Legion or risked your life trying something you were told you couldn’t do, but the stories of your life have magic. They let people know that you really lived.

So, find a friend willing to listen and share your stories.

The people who know your stories are the people who can say in the future… “Yes! ______ really lived!”