“Why do you guys insist on eating every day?”

That was the question I asked my family recently. Not because I don’t love them, but because I was in the middle of a really good book. The kind you sink into and forget what time it is. The kind where you tell yourself you’ll just read one more chapter and then find yourself three hours later blinking at the clock like it betrayed you.

Are you a reader? Have you ever gotten so engrossed in a story that you kinda resent the other people in your life interrupting it? There’s a particular kind of magic in being transported like that, when the words on a page become more than ink and paper. They become a world. A refuge. A mirror. A portal.

Stories have that power. They let us walk in someone else’s life for a while. They can expand our empathy, stretch our imaginations, summon our courage, and surprise us with insight. I think that’s one of the reasons Jesus told so many stories. Not because people needed more information, but because they needed to grow. Growth rarely happens through bullet points. It happens when something gets inside us and starts to stir.

Jesus didn’t hand out spiritual handbooks. He talked about lost coins and stubborn siblings, about seeds and soil and surprise banquets. He told stories that made people curious, stories that invited them to wonder, to wrestle, and to wake up. His parables weren’t tidy; they were layered, challenging, sometimes even unsettling. And yet, people kept coming back to them, because good stories stick with you. They sneak past your defenses and ask better questions. They turn over the soil of your heart so something new might grow.

Faith, at its best, is like that. It’s not just a set of rules or doctrines, it’s a story we step into. One we live and re-live. One that holds mystery, tension, growth, and grace. It doesn’t always resolve cleanly. It’s not always easy to explain. But it invites us in and invites us deeper.

So maybe, when the world feels overwhelming or dry or ordinary, what we need isn’t to try harder, but to sink into the story again. To let ourselves be carried. To remember we’re part of something bigger, something sacred, something still unfolding.

My wish for you this week, Reader, is that you’ll find your way into a story that speaks to your soul. Whether it’s one Jesus told long ago, a story you’re living right now, or one you stumble upon in a quiet moment, may it stir something in you that feels true and alive. May it stretch your heart, deepen your wonder, and remind you that God is still telling stories, and you are part of the telling. And if dinner has to wait a little... it will be okay. That's the fiLLLed life.

Live a fiLLLed life, Melissa ​

P.S. But maybe take a moment to tell your family you love them. :)