Hi friends!
Happy Wednesday. I’ve got a treat for you today. The lovely Kristy Cambron is sharing a guest post about peace today. I don’t know about you, but I feel we all can use more peace in our lives. If you aren’t familiar with Kristy or her books, run—don’t walk—to your nearest bookstore or online retailer. Her books are deeply researched and brimming with emotion and beautiful authenticity. Enjoy!
Go ahead. Give me the super-secret ending for that next big movie, Netflix series, or the book everybody is talking about. . . I won’t be upset. Why? I guess it’s time to confess something very difficult for a storyteller to admit:
I love spoilers.
I know! Storytelling logic says this goes against everything we book lovers love about a great story. We want those compelling characters. A pulse-pounding plot. A really memorable story that if told well, will be one that both changes and challenges us, and moves us in some way. And yes, whether we know it or not. . . we want the spoilers in some form because we want to know it’s all going to work out in the end.
Here’s why that “Happily Ever After” ending matters to me, and why it probably does to you too.
Stories have a rhythm. You drop the main characters into the action right away. You give them motivation—a problem to fix or a journey to take. And along the way, the reader or viewer or audience member experiences that journey through the characters’ eyes. We embark on the adventure with them! And I don’t know about you, but especially in seasons where I’ve felt like my own life has fallen out of rhythm, I crave the happily ever after end.
Now, this isn’t about avoiding the plot twists. And it’s not about knowing which characters live or die. It’s not even about control (though I know you could argue this spoilers-loving storyteller might want a little of it in knowing what’s coming). More than anything, knowing the end of the story allows us to see how the characters find peace even in peaceless circumstances. And that tells us we can do the same.
One of my favorite quotes is attributed to Billy Graham: “I’ve read the last page in the Bible. It’s all going to turn out alright.”
I love that! And here’s why that one thought is so powerful: Jesus knew we needed peace in our lives and He came to earth so we might have it. The greatest story ever told has an end. And we know what it is. And whether we’re a reader or storyteller (or both), that end brings peace regardless of the peaceless circumstances that may surround us.
In John 14:27, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (NIV)
The word Jesus uses to reference peace here in the New Testament is often used in connection to the Hebrew word for peace in the Old Testament (see Numbers 6:24-27). It has a two-fold definition, meaning: physical safety (external peace) and spiritual wholeness with God (the peace inside of us).
Jesus is telling his disciples (and us, as we read His words) that regardless of what’s happening on the outside of our lives—the circumstances we often can’t control—He can bring us peace on the inside. And that peace means whatever happens in our story, we know where the end is. We know true peace. We know that “Happily Ever After” isn’t a fairy tale or a nice item to have on the wish list of our lives.
Peace is real. It’s available. And in the greatest stories, we always find it in the end.
Go in peace today!
KRISTY CAMBRON is a vintage-inspired storyteller writing from the space where art, history, and faith intersect. She’s a Christy Award-winning author of historical fiction, including her bestselling debut, The Butterfly and the Violin, and nonfiction, including the Verse Mapping Series of Bibles and Bible studies. Her work has been named to Cosmopolitan’s Best Historical Fiction Novels of 2021, Publishers Weekly Religion & Spirituality TOP 10, Library Journal Reviews’ Best Books, RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards, received multiple INSPY Award nominations, and a 2020 Christy Award for her novel, The Painted Castle. You can connect with her at: kristycambron.com
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I think the happy ending gives us hope. In a world where wrongs are often not righted and justice isn’t always done, where government may not be trustworthy, we need to know or feel that , in the end, wrongs will be righted and justice prevail, that happiness and love are possible.
I totally agree!
Hope is definitely a good thing to focus on! 😉
Hey Kristy! As always, I enjoyed reading your thoughtful commentary. I think it is innate in each of us to want that happy ending. We all feel that pull to rise above the hardship and sorrow of this life and that is exactly what God wants us to do.
To everyone reading here, I will second Dani Pettrey’s comment, “run—don’t walk—to your nearest bookstore or online retailer.” I always learn something new from Kristy’s books.
Absolutely always learn something new from her books too, Ruby 🙂
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as a guest here, and have a safe space to out my little “I love spoilers” secret! Ha ha! 😉 It’s been wonderful to stop by.
How kind are you, Ruby! Thank you for the added encouragement and truly humbling sentiments. I’m blushin’ a little! 😉